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| Kate Collins |
I became a cyborg at IFA
Katie Collins's Blog, Katie Collins, Staff Writer, Wired.co.uk, 3 September 2015
IFA [largest consumer electronics trade show in Europe] usually comprises a fairly formulaic set of experiences. There are phones launched against a background of dazzling light shows in dark halls; there are hurried journeys across to Berlin to meet with executives; there are early starts and late nights in the press room.
Never did I guess that IFA 2015 would also mark the start of my transformation from human to cyborg.
The back of my hand was swiftly swabbed with antiseptic wipes and my surgeon pinched the piece of skin just beside the kind of fatty crease between thumb and forefinger. Using a blunt part of a syringe he pressed hard into it to prepare it for the injection -- almost like tenderising meat. He then inserted his needle into the skin, and skillfully deposited the microchip and then quickly mopped me up.
It all happened somewhat by accident. After watching a man successfully have a microchip implanted in his skin following a Kaspersky security event, I approached the security giant's PR team and was told that sure, I could get one too if I wanted. (If you don't ask…)
The chip is contained in a small tube, about the size of a grain of rice. It contains no battery, but operates wirelessly and can communicate with smartphones and other devices via NFC.
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Katie Collins's Blog, Katie Collins, Staff Writer, Wired.co.uk, 3 September 2015
IFA [largest consumer electronics trade show in Europe] usually comprises a fairly formulaic set of experiences. There are phones launched against a background of dazzling light shows in dark halls; there are hurried journeys across to Berlin to meet with executives; there are early starts and late nights in the press room.
Never did I guess that IFA 2015 would also mark the start of my transformation from human to cyborg.
The back of my hand was swiftly swabbed with antiseptic wipes and my surgeon pinched the piece of skin just beside the kind of fatty crease between thumb and forefinger. Using a blunt part of a syringe he pressed hard into it to prepare it for the injection -- almost like tenderising meat. He then inserted his needle into the skin, and skillfully deposited the microchip and then quickly mopped me up.
It all happened somewhat by accident. After watching a man successfully have a microchip implanted in his skin following a Kaspersky security event, I approached the security giant's PR team and was told that sure, I could get one too if I wanted. (If you don't ask…)
The chip is contained in a small tube, about the size of a grain of rice. It contains no battery, but operates wirelessly and can communicate with smartphones and other devices via NFC.