Human ID Implant to be Unveiled
Soon
Source: World Net Daily
August 13, 2000
YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE ...
A working prototype of an implant designed to monitor
the physiology and whereabouts of human wearers, known as Digital
Angel®, is scheduled to be unveiled in October at an invitation-only
event in New York City -- two months ahead of schedule. Developed by
Applied Digital Solutions, the device is said to be the first-ever
operational combination of bio-sensor technology and Web-enabled
wireless telecommunications linked to global positioning satellite
location-tracking systems.
Applied Digital Solutions Chairman Richard Sullivan said
the development of the technology has progressed well ahead of
schedule.
"We're extremely heartened by the remarkable progress
made by Dr. Peter Zhou and his entire research team, including
professors and their associates at Princeton University and the New
Jersey Institute of Technology," said Sullivan. "This technology
relates directly to the exploding wireless marketplace. We'll be
demonstrating for the first time ever that wireless telecommunications
systems and bio-sensor devices -- capable of measuring and
transmitting critical
body function data -- can be successfully linked together with GPS
(global positioning satellite) technology and integrated with the
Internet."
As previously reported in WorldNetDaily, Digital Angel®
is intended to serve a number of functions. In addition to locating
missing persons and monitoring physiological data, the device will be
marketed to the world of e-commerce as a means of verifying online
consumer identity.
Similar to microchip technologies currently used as
electronic ID tags for pets, Digital Angel® is a dime-sized implant,
inserted just under the skin. When implanted within a human body, the
device is powered electromechanically through the movement of muscles
and can be activated either by the "wearer" or by a monitoring
facility.
Applied Digital Solutions is also exploring avenues for
utilizing Digital Angel® without implanting it.
"We are currently talking to a watch maker who is
interested in placing the device on the back of their watches,"
Sullivan told WorldNetDaily. "In addition, technology is being
developed that would allow Digital Angel® to function from the back of
a cellular phone, transmitting bio-sensor information when carried by
the user."
While estimates of Digital Angel®'s marketplace
potential vary, Sullivan and Applied Digital's partners believe they
can enter the implant into a multi-billion dollar market through
various licensing arrangements, Web-enabled wireless services and data
transactions handled by Applied Digital's Application Service Provider
center.
Those attending the event in New York City will see a
working, multimedia demonstration of the implant. A miniature sensor
device -- smaller than a grain of rice and equipped with a tiny
antenna -- will capture and wirelessly transmit a person's vital
body-function data, such as body temperature or pulse, to an
Internet-integrated ground station. In addition, the antenna will also
receive information regarding the location of the individual from the
GPS satellite. Both
sets of data -- medical information and location -- will then be
wirelessly transmitted to the ground station and made available on
Web-enabled desktop, laptop or wireless devices.
According to Applied Digital, the demonstration will
represent the first time these technologies have been united into one
functioning system.
The New York event -- at a time, date and location to be
announced later -- will feature live presentations from top Applied
Digital executives, including Sullivan and Dr. Peter Zhou, president
and chief scientist at DigitalAngel.net, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Applied Digital. Attendees at the device's unveiling
ceremony will include a handpicked group of potential joint-venture
partners, as well as senior-level players in the e-commerce, wireless
and Internet industries, and stock analysts.
Zhou is passionately enthusiastic about the device.
"I'm particularly excited about Digital Angel®'s ability
to save lives by remotely monitoring the medical conditions of at-risk
patients and providing emergency rescue units with the person's exact
location," he said. "I also see great potential for Digital Angel® in
the area of 'location-aware' e-commerce. This is a whole new wireless
and Web-enabled frontier in which a purchaser's actual location is
integral to making a successful sale or providing a valuable,
location-critical service."
In an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily in March,
Zhou expressed his belief that the implant will be as popular as cell
phones and vaccines.
Digital Angel®, said Zhou, "will be a connection from
yourself to the electronic world. It will be your guardian, protector.
It will bring good things to you."
He added, "We will be a hybrid of electronic
intelligence and our own soul."
Applied Digital Solutions first announced it had
acquired the patent rights to a miniature digital transceiver in
December 1999. Naming the device Digital Angel®, ADS formed
DigitalAngel.net, Inc. to serve as the research and development unit
for the device. Since that time, ADS has actively promoted the
implant, pointing to what executives and scientists say are lifestyle
benefits of the chip.
"The first market we hope to tap into is a $10 billion
agri-industry," said Sullivan. "The FDA is requiring improved tracking
methods for beef and poultry. The Digital Angel®, with its ability to
monitor body functions, can track quality from the [animal] pens to
the supermarket."
The next large market ADS hopes to tap into is that of
preventive medical tracking. Through its body function tracking
capabilities, the Digital Angel® can monitor such functions as body
temperature, heartbeat and specific needs such as insulin levels. This
information can then be transmitted to a doctor or health-care
provider.
"The Digital Angel® serves as an advance warning device,
which can help lower the cost of medical care," commented Sullivan.
However, despite the excitement over an early working
model of this new technology, concerns have been raised as to personal
privacy. With the integrated technology, a person's location, health
status and other personal data will be transmitted and available via
the Internet.
ADS claims, however, that privacy concerns are
misplaced, since the device can be turned off by the owner.
Additional concerns have been raised by Christians, who
contend Digital Angel® could be the fulfillment of a biblical
prediction found in the book of Revelation.
Zhou, president of DigitalAngel.net, Inc., disagrees.
"I am a Christian, but I don't think [that argument]
makes sense," he told WND in March. "The purpose of the device is to
save your life and improve the quality of life. There's no connection
to the Bible."
As the technology becomes more commonplace, the debate,
as well as sales, are likely to continue growing.
"We'll soon be ready to move ahead to the
production-design phase of Digital Angel® geared to specific
marketplace applications," Sullivan said. "The key message right now
is this: Digital Angel® isn't a blue-sky technology. This is real.
Digital Angel® breakthrough technology is here. It's live!"
Related story:
Big Brother gets under your skin
Related columns:
Meet the 'Digital Angel' -- from Hell
Revelation about 'Digital Angels'
Julie Foster is a staff reporter and JoAnn Kohlbrand is
a contributing reporter to WorldNetDaily.
by JoAnn Kohlbrand and Julie Foster
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