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July 18, 2006 – Hewlett-Packard Co. announced yesterday their latest invention, a grain-sized data chip that can be attached to most anything.
The mini wireless Memory Spot chip, as HP calls it, "could be stuck or embedded in almost any object," stated HP’s press release.
The prototype chip, measuring a tiny 2mm-4mm square, can store up to 4 megabits of information, equaling up to 100 pages of text, according to Reuters. It has a data transfer rate of 10 megabits per second, ten times faster than Bluetooth wireless speeds, according to HP’s release. The data chip has a built-in antenna and requires no battery.
The Memory Spot chip "provide[s] broad access to digital content in the physical world," stated HP’s release.
The HP chip, which could someday come in the form of dot stickers, could be embedded in patient wristbands for easy access to medical records, security documents such as passports, or attached to printed legal documents. But more importantly, the tiny chip could add music soundtracks to photos or add video clips to postcards.
"Memory Spots could be considered a sophisticated cousin of the bar codes," stated yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. Once the memory chips hit the market, consumers could purchase Memory Spots for $5 or less, according to the WSJ.