“Electrolux Design Lab 2009 finalist Rickard Hederstierna is the Swedish designer behind Cocoon, the meat and fish maker. He is a student at Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden.”

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“According to new research released by ABI Research, global sales of item-level RFID (radio-frequency identification) systems to apparel companies will essentially triple in size over the next five years, approaching $125 million by the end of 2014. ABI estimates the apparel industry will spend $44.8 million on item-level RFID solutions worldwide in 2009.”

Among the companies listed in ABI’s report of key retailer deployments are

American Apparel, Bloomingdales, & New Balance among others

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“Treating the fundamental privacy problem is so challenging that more sophisticated functions will have to wait.”

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Hitachi RFID "powder" tags next to a human hair

(Sorry i know some of these stories are late but i’m catching up slowly…)

We will be seeing alot more of this very soon.  Chips, chips everywhere…on you and now IN you.

Financial Times Reports:

“Patients who fail to pop pills on time could soon benefit from having a chip on their shoulder, under a ground-breaking electronic system being developed by Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group.

The company is testing technology that inserts a tiny microchip into each pill swallowed and sends a reminder to patients by text message if they fail to follow their doctors’ prescriptions.”

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Reuters reports:

Shares of VeriChip Corp (CHIP.O)
tripled after the company said it had been granted an exclusive
license to two patents, which will help it to develop
implantable virus detection systems in humans.

 The patents, held by VeriChip partner Receptors LLC, relate
to biosensors that can detect the H1N1 and other viruses, and
biological threats such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus, VeriChip said in a statement.

 The technology will combine with VeriChip's implantable
radio frequency identification devices to develop virus triage
detection systems.

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PositiveID to offer identification tools and technologies for consumers and businesses

DELRAY BEACH, FL – September 8, 2009 — VeriChip Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIP) (“VeriChip”), a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, and Steel Vault Corporation (OTCBB: SVUL) (“Steel Vault”), a premier provider of identity security products and services, announced today that VeriChip has agreed to acquire Steel Vault and form PositiveID Corporation to offer identification tools and technologies for consumers and businesses. In conjunction with the merger, VeriChip plans to change its name to PositiveID and continue to trade on the NASDAQ. PositiveID intends to change its ticker symbol to “PSID” upon closing of the transaction.

The formation of PositiveID represents the convergence of a pioneer in personal health records, VeriChip, with a leader in the identity security space, Steel Vault, focused on access and security of a consumer’s critical data. The companies believe that joining personal health records and identity security solutions provides a solid foundation for organic growth and a strong, flexible platform for future offers.

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Receptors white paper release quotes,

“An integrated system for bio-threat (pandemic, emerging diseases, bioterrorism) detection must include stable, sensitive and selective solutions for the capture and analysis across the diverse spectrum of threat agents.  In addition, the ideal threat agent detection and alert system should be capable of both single and multiplexed analysis over the range of toxins, viruses and microbes that present the most significant hazards.  However, the products currently in the marketplace fail to provide a comprehensive solution and, most importantly, are not stable or scalable.  Moreover, these systems are
generally too specific as they are targeted to a particular pathogen strain.  Thus, long development and approval cycles result in market introductions that are considerably post-threat and not adaptable to current or emerging threats. There is a clear need for a biothreat sensor system that spans the range from surveillance and early warning of both known and novel agents to multiplexed diagnostics for rapid and broadly applicable classification and characterization during an outbreak event. RECEPTORS’ AFFINITY by DESIGN™ CARA™ platform and VeriChip’s signal transduction and RFID
communication expertise combine capture, analysis, response and report into a stable, scalable and threat selective platform which will be developed into an integrated suite of sensor products that cover the bio-threat/biodefense spectrum.”

Verichip has acquired exclusive licensing rights to the patents on  Receptors LLC’s in vivo glucose sensor and it was reported in March that 13 people were chipped at the Boston Diabetes Expo.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeriChip
Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIP - News), a provider of RFID systems for
healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today it added 13 diabetic
patients to its VeriMed Patient Identification System network at a Boston
Diabetes EXPO sponsored by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
    At the Boston Diabetes EXPO, physicians implanted VeriMed RFID
microchips in conference attendees who signed up for the voluntary
procedure. The VeriMed Patient Identification System, which utilizes an
implantable RFID microchip in combination with a handheld RFID scanner and
a secure patient database, provides immediate access to important
identification and health information for patients who arrive at an
emergency department unable to communicate.

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