RFID Chip
Yes, these chips are small and won't get in the way as you work throughout the day. Pictured: Patrick Kramer of the company Digiwell shows his microchip implant to a visitor at a press preview of the Wear-it festival in Berlin on June 8, 2017. The Wear It Festival takes place on June 8 and 9, 2017 in Berlin and shows the potentials of wearables with focus on the development of new products allying fashion and digital items. AFP/Getty Images/Adam Berry

A man volunteered himself to receive a chip implant in front of the public at the recent Mobile World Congress 2019. The chip insertion involved having a part of him opened up for a little bit to implant the chip in. Here’s what we know about this.

According to CNBC, Edgar Pons wanted to have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Chip implanted that would serve as his key for entering his automatic house. Most automatic houses need coded chips to be scanned rather than keys inserted in holes to open them up.

Pons said that he likes that the chips can be easily removed through making a little cut near the chip and pressing it out. The procedure for inserting chip will open up a bit of Pons’ skin for the specialist to place the chip in. Once inserted, the RFID chip is ready to use for his house and other devices compatible to his RFID. These chips can be noticed upon closer inspection.

Moreover, physicist, engineer, curator and explorer Alex Rodriguez Vitello noted that the RFID chips is as small as a grain of sand. It’s also covered in material that’s compatible with the body and lasts in it for a long time. Inputting chips that aren’t biocompatible compels the body’s immune system to register the chips as a foreign threat and try to damage them, which could destroy the device or interfere with its effectiveness.

Another use of implanted chip RFIDs is for payment, and this was also showcased in MWC 2019. Pau, who already has the implant, made a payment through scanning the chip inside his skin. Sabadell financial services manager Anna Puigoriol noted that this could be the future of payments.

As of now, RFIDs are mostly used in other everyday life tools such as cars, work ID cards, and other places that need identity verification for access and passage. With these implanted RFID technology, we’re on the verge of innovation after the 2010 decade.

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