3 ms·

This looks like spyware tech. In particular, for micro-scale active-RFID tags. The basic idea is to take an RFID tag, attach a small battery, and to that, att

This looks like spyware tech. In particular, for micro-scale active-RFID tags. The basic idea is to take an RFID tag, attach a small battery, and to that, attach a tiny solar pv chip and microcontroller to keep the battery charged indefinitely. In contrast to passive RFID, which has only a few cm range IIRC, the active RFID tag can be read hundreds of meters away. There are some non-dystopian applications, i.e. it makes tracking expensive inventory much easier. Add a tiny microphone and some memory, and you have hard-to-detect surveillance spyware that can basically be placed anywhere. The STASI would have loved it, of course. Looks like these active RFID applications are getting rather common, for example, this DoD supplier: https://hi-techrfid.com/ https://hi-techrfid.com/

eganist 4y ago
> There are some non-dystopian applications, i.e. it makes tracking expensive inventory much easier. Doesn't even have to be expensive. Cold-chain comes to mind. Pair with the most barebones thermosensor and with a quick/broad sweep you can ID localized cold chain issues. (e.g IoT sensor on a shipping crate may indicate <0*C but localized pockets of heat start registering on individual packages, etc.)
NickRandom 4y ago
You are not all that far off in some respects - take a look at the link on their page called - "What is smart dust and how is it used?" https://www.nanowerk.com/smartdust.php https://www.nanowerk.com/smartdust.php