Microchip technology

A58.

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It uses microchips, smaller than a grain of sand, to store and transmit data using radio waves. These chips are called radio tags and can be attached to a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification.

A59.

There are two types of radio tag. Passive RFID tags are so called because they have no power supply. They have an antenna that receives energy from a reader device and can only be read at short distances – up to five metres. Active RFID tags, on the other hand, come with a battery that provides internal power and have practical ranges of several hundred metres.

A60.

Most tags used to track products like clothes or books only contain a unique identification number, similar to a bar code. But the chips being implanted into passports can store data such as name, address, nationality, sex, as well as biometric data like iris patterns or fingerprints. Radio tags can also be attached to animals and everyday items. That means you’ll be able to find your dog, glasses or car keys when they’re lost.

A61.

RFID chips can be used in humans as well. They can be inserted under the skin. For example, some nightclubs are using an implantable chip to identify their customers, who then use it to pay for drinks. Some hospitals are implanting chips into patients’ arms, so that hospital staff can access their medical records. Another company is working on an implant that will contain a GPS. A device like that would allow us to pinpoint someone’s position on the globe.

A62.

It looks like this microchip technology might change our lives completely. But can anyone think of any potential problems with RFID? Take, for example, security risks or privacy concerns.

A63.

Consumer organizations say that tags might be used to track people to their homes after they’ve left the shop. Another risk is from hackers, who might steal another person’s identity. But manufacturers say we needn’t worry, because they’re developing encryption systems to protect radio tags from unauthorized scanning, and the tags embedded into humans will be easily removable.

1)

Radio tags to identify things.

2)

Microchips implanted into passports.

3)

Attachable radio tags to store and transmit data.

4)

Healing microchips.

1)

Microchips to track people at a distance.

2)

Radio-acoustic tags.

3)

Implantable radio chip embedded into humans.

4)

Radio tags can locate people at large distances.

Task 1.

Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. There is an example at the beginning.

Wearable computers is another trend in mobile (0) communications. Can you imagine ...... (B1) a PC on your belt and ...... (B2) email on your sunglasses? Some devices are ...... (B3) with a ...... (B4) modem, a keypad and a small screen; others are ...... (B5) by voice. The users of ...... (B6) technology are sometimes even ...... (B7) cyborgs? The term was ...... (B8) by Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline in 1960 to describe ...... (B9) organism – ...... (B10) that are part robot, part human.

MOBILITY

WEAR

GET

EQUIP WIRE

ACTIVATE

WEAR

CALL

INVENT

CYBERNETICS BE

Task 2.

Read the text (B11-B12). Write down two odd words from each sentence in the order they are given in the text.

B11.

Both science and technology imply a thinking process, both are being concerned with our causal relationships in the material world.

B12.

Advances in science have frequently had made their bitter opponents, but today many people have come understood to fear technology much more than science.

Task 3.

Read text. Fill in the gaps with only one suitable word. The first letter of each missing word is given.