WASHINGTON (States News Service) -- A prototype of a miniature sensor capable of charting an individual's precise location and monitoring his or her vital signs will be unveiled in New York City in October.
Relaying a steady stream of data on the location and health of its host to ground stations using the
Global Positioning System (GPS), the dime-sized chip is intended to be worn externally, such as on a wristwatch or implanted under the skin.
With the motto "technology that cares," the device's maker, Applied Digital Solutions, sees applications ranging from remotely monitoring at-risk patients for quick emergency response to helping police track down abducted children
who carry a device in their backpack. Other applications may be tracking lost pets and endangered wildlife, as well as managing the supply chain of certain products and finding lost or stolen property.
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| The Digital Angel will monitor people's vital signs and whereabouts via GPS satellite technology. Click to enlarge.
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The "Digital Angel," using GPS technology, has useful medical applications. But privacy advocates fear this device may fall into the wrong hands.
The Palm Beach, Florida-based company is actively seeking investors to turn the patented device into a product they say could spark a market worth more than $100 billion. The October event is aimed at raising the technology's profile and attracting potential investors.
"The Digital Angel" is a miniaturized version of older, bulkier
tracking devices, and integrates wireless internet technology with global positioning to transmit information to the internet. This is the first time the melding of all three technologies has been attempted, the company said.
"If this was five or seven years ago, you would not be able to draw together this technology," Richard Sullivan, chairman and CEO of Applied Digital, told SPACE.com. "But it's here today, and it's going to have an extremely positive impact."
By maintaining
steady contact with the body like a nicotine patch, the device will read body temperature, pulse and blood-sugar content.
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However, the implant technology, still under development at Princeton University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, is likely to raise questions about information security, said David Sorkin, a privacy law professor at John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
In general, information transmitted through GPS and installed on the internet risks being seen by third parties, by either resale or hacking, Sorkin said.
Once the information is stored on the internet, it may get into the hands of telemarketing companies, for example, who could conceivably use the information to target advertising. Imagine, Sorkin said, a telemarketer knowing when you are home and "leaving messages saying 'we know you are there, pick up.'"
An Air Force Delta II rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on July 16, 2000 carrying a GPS satellite.
As GPS becomes more widely available, privacy advocates are raising concerns with similar ideas to chart the location for medical and other reasons.
Other ideas, such as the "smart card" -- a plastic strip the size of a credit card designed to carry one's whole medical history on it -- have been met with some resistance.
In a recent CNN poll, 76 percent said they would not want to have a device such as the Digital Angel implanted in them or their children, while 24 percent said they would like to.
Sullivan acknowledged the privacy concerns, but said they "tend to be dramatically in the minority." This is due in part to users being able to voluntarily turn the device on and off, he said.
"Certainly people have discussed the concern about privacy but ours is kind of an on-and-off situation where...the control of privacy is in the control of the user," Sullivan said. "Clearly the contribution is enormous compared to what I call the misuse of any technology."
The technology aims to use an unprecedented micro-battery to generate power through body heat or movement. An external version would use some sort of antenna to communicate with ground stations via satellites.
The implant device also needs approval from federal health regulatory agencies to make sure it has no adverse effects on wearers.
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