A Brief History
On August 24, 1998, science fiction and conspiracy theory met science fact when the first successful human implant of a radio tracker was tested in the UK.
Digging Deeper
Called “Radio-frequency identification, “or “RFID,” the device consists of a miniaturized radio transponder that when interrogated by a RFID “reader” sends identifying information to that reader, usually a coded number that is interpreted as whatever identity of person is assigned to the implant.
Far from the conspiracy theory systems that allow satellites to observe and report on the location and movement of people with implants, for the device to work the “reader” must be quite close to the person with implant in order to identify the device, within several meters.
Another form of implant that is “passive” and does not require a battery of its own can be read by an RFID reader from up to “hundreds of meters” away, still nothing like the conspiracy theories!
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Smiley, Suzanne. The Insider’s Guide to Working With RFID. atlasRFIDstore | Books, 2020.
Sweeney, Patrick. RFID For Dummies. For Dummies, 2007.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of Senior Airman Grace Schwarz, 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron, scanning a radio frequency identification tag inside a protective vest at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is a work of a U.S. Air Force Airman or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain in the United States.
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