here is the linky.
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/02/hitach...ps-rfid-powder/

another article - Athletics ... who needs athletics. (rope ascender/descender)
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/...TC-0D6B48984890

With this tech around, there is no reason a corp would not put this stuff EVERYWHERE.

Like, in the bullet they just shot you with. Dug out the bullet? Too bad, there's RFID dust all throughout the wound channel.

They could simply mist the stuff on anyone who walk through a door. With a fine enough dust, many folks wouldn't even notice.

Every piece of gear would be RFID impregnated, right in the structure. You could mix the dust into the plastic that makes up most things. Making it useless as loot to sell to a fence. "Dude, you're trying to sell me something with a tracker, go away!"


-np

...#1, ...like security:

...add to non-lethal weaponry like pepper punch & smoke grenades
...replace the old dye marker banks use to thwart robbery with a canister of these.
...embed in clothing at apparel stores.to thwart shoplifting
...heck, embed in almost any product/packaging for that matter.
...embed in prison clothing.

...#2, saw this in the paper last night. add a few decades of advancement & it would be a great accessory to have with your Grapple Gun.

And aside from the fact that not all of us think that everything that comes up in RL should be in our SR games.

And of course, cost and how much broad spectrum use would effect the bottom line...

What does it take to fry something like that? Would a strong enough electromagnetic field do it? Could one be generated by a portable device? Or would it take a jolt of electricity?

Though I agree with eidolon that just because something exists in RL, it shouldn't necessarily make its way into SR security, which is, by design, made to be somewhat exploitable.

I imagine the RFID chips must be exceptionally easy to burn out, then they're no more marked than anything else with unusual dust on them.

I was under the impression that these were minituire RFID chips - smaller versions of the ones Shadowrun described. They're not. They store a 36-digit number but can only transmit that information a VERY short distance (inches?) and only when an external source of electricity is applied to power the chip.

So effectively you would need a chip reader to read these, but there's no reason not to assume the dust is everywhere on everything and everyone. So what we really have here is almost an explanation for the Star Trek -type tricorder. Almost. You could have an omni-scanner that scans an object, cross-references its info with Matrix data, and pulls up detailed information about that item and its history.

If you want to use the RFID dust, don't focus on the dust, but focus on the readers.

Not quite. I thought that as well, but it turns out that RFID also includes some basic small active antennae that respond to specified signals.

But yeah, most of the useful RFID tags don't have power sources, since having a power source means they stop working eventually.

~J

There are two main types of RFID chips in the real world.

1)Passive- no power supply, uses energy from a reader to power the chip and relays info, but isn't constantly transmitting. Will be smaller, due to lack of power source. Look similar to how stealth chips are described. Also, because of smaller size and power supplies, able to store less information.

2)Active- Power supply. According to wiki, can last up to 10 years, broadcast range is greatly expanded, as is the amount of info that can be stored on them(including encryption.) Looks like regular RFID to me.

Please note that the RFID chips in the article, while small, don't have an antenna. Without one they don't do anything, and the antenna has to be decent sized (at least postage stamp size, currently) in order to be read from more than a foot away.

All information in this post courtesy of a quick reading of the wiki on RFID, and any errors are due to my own misunderstandings:-)

Most RFID tags are passive "echo" devices. You send out a signal of a particular frequency and it echos back with some distortion. That distortion contains the data stored in the RFID unit. Secure RFID require signal that is already distorted a particular way; any other signal fails to generate an echo that escapes the RFID antenna.

There isn't a whole lot of difference in general approach between a SR4 RFID tag and those security stickers on CDs; both echo when hit with a signal. The difference is that every security sticker does nothing more than echo while RFID can be encoded with data.

If you are worried about that, have your mage learn the EMP spells. After the run, everyone turns off their toys, the mage casts the spell and fries all the RFID dust, and you're on your way.

please remember also that in order to get decent range (3ft+) you have to attach a spiral antennae board which is 1/2 sq CM. def. visible, but you COULD embed it into devices.

There was an article a few months ago on how to turn a disposible camera into a RFID destroyer.

@ Cetiah

No, the chips in the article are just like the Mu chips(the specs of dust on the finger in the picture) They are the RFID chip only, not connected to the antenna. In order for them to be in any way functional, they need the antenna, regardless of whether or not they have a power source

Mu Chip Page

Observe on the bottom right, a sample of the Mu chip with an antenna, embedded in currency