Invisible RFID Ink Safe For Cattle And People

[The Straight Story]

Invisible RFID Ink Safe For Cattle And People, Company Says

The process developed by Somark involves a geometric array of micro-needles and an ink capsule, which is used to 'tattoo' an animal. The ink can be detected from 4 feet away.

By K.C. Jones
InformationWeek
January 10, 2007 04:49 PM

A startup company developing chipless RFID ink has tested its product on cattle and laboratory rats.

Somark Innovations announced this week that it successfully tested biocompatible RFID ink, which can be read through animal hairs. The passive RFID technology could be used to identify and track cows to reduce financial losses from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease) scares. Somark, which formed in 2005, is located at the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis. The company is raising Series A equity financing and plans to license the technology to secondary markets, which could include laboratory animals, dogs, cats, prime cuts of meat, and military personnel.

Chief scientist Ramos Mays said the tests provide a true proof-of-principle and mitigate most of the technological risks in terms of the product's performance. "This proves the ability to create a synthetic biometric or fake fingerprint with biocompatible, chipless RFID ink and read it through hair," he said.

Co-founder Mark Pydynowski said during an interview Wednesday that the ink doesn't contain any metals and can be either invisible or colored. He declined to say what is in the ink, but said he's certain that it is 100% biocompatible and chemically inert. He also said it is safe for people and animals.

The process developed by Somark involves a geometric array of micro-needles and a reusable applicator with a one-time-use ink capsule. Pydynowski said it takes five to 10 seconds to "stamp or tattoo" an animal, and there is no need to remove the fur. The ink remains in the dermal layer, and a reader can detect it from 4 feet away.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196802844

[veganlush]

1. boycott cruelty...

...go vegan.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Good Grief! Radio-Frequency Identifying Ink? No thanks, I'll take an Ear-Tag, please.

Then, when I'm finally totally fed up with invasion of my privacy I can hack it off with a rusty shovel.

An identifying tattoo would be much messier.

:tinfoilhat:

[MadHound]

3. Gee, eartags and paper and pencil record keeping can do the same thing,

But of course RFID really isn't about tracking cattle, more about tracking humans and their things. This is a less invasive, more palatable, more insidious way of affixing tracking devices to everybody and everything.

Welcome to the kinder, gentler police state.

[RKP5637]

4. Yep, Marking, Tracking, Controlling and Forced Indoctrination into whatever Ideology. n/t