Due to an increase in the number of kidnappings, thousands of Mexicans are considering the option of under-the-skin tracking products such as satellite and RFID chip implants, reports The Washington Post.
Xega is a Mexican company in the business of manufacturing these subdermal chips on the promise that they can help rescuers track down kidnapping victims. The company further says its sales have increased by 40% in the past two years, and have helped rescue 178 clients in the past decade.
Not everyone is a believer though. Some RFID experts consider the technology pure science fiction.
The development of an RFID human implant that could work as a tracking device remains far off, said Justin Patton, managing director of the University of Arkansas RFID Research Center. Water is a major barrier for RFID, he added, and because the human body is mostly made up of water, it would dull the signal, as would metal, concrete and other solid materials.
Xega went on to acknowledge the implant would be essentially useless unless the client carried the GPS-enabled transmitter. But researchers say the GPS devices also have limitations including battery life and reception.
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