[Lace] needed to build a “box project” for his college art class and figured he could spice things up a bit by adding some electronic components to the mix. His project, dubbed the ‘Blasphemous Bible Box‘ consists of a bible opened up the section of the book of Revelations that discusses the mark of the beast in an old cigar box. The box is normally locked, but has been programmed to unhook an internal latch when he passes the RFID chip embedded in his hand over it. The effect could have been achieved using a simpler circuit, but the enclosed Arduino seems to do the job decently enough. [Lace] has not mentioned if he has considered revising the box any, but a spring-loaded external latch secured with a magnetic lock would make for a nice effect if version 2 was ever built. Adding a servo to slowly open the box as well as including a speaker blaring Carmina Burana – O Fortuna upon opening would be pretty cool as well (hint, hint). We have video of the box in action after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECPo1hu4DZI&w=470]
I like the way you casually say “RFID chip embedded in his hand” as if there’s nothing odd about that.
It’s not like you can just go to the mall and get that done you know.
^^^^ that was my first thought too! who does that?
@brad
My friend, who is a vet, does it everyday……to dogs :D :D :D
Is this the same guy who embedded one in his hand to start his car?
heh… DIY RFID implants for the brave :-O
Needless to say the risks are fairly high (such as deep tissue infections, migration of the chip into contact with a nerve, pain for weeks etc) but they are pretty useful for bulletproof authentication if the chip has built-in crypto, challenge/response, etc.
Using the cheap 125K chips isn’t advisable IMHO as they are far too easy to clone.
I’d be worried that computer mice in the future might have circuitry added that can authenticate it’s users via hand-based RFID instead of typing in a password. That would be open to all sorts of nefarious activity unless someone sorts out all the problems with clonability! Run for the hills!!
@wosser
As YaBa intimates, a sympathetic vet has all the equipment needed for inserting a basic tag. Alternately, you can order from ebay the kit required (the tiny RFID tag itself, and a large gauge needle and syringe).
Self-RFID implantation (assuming reasonable precaution such as sterilising the tag) is abut as dangerous as any self-injection, and millions of type-1 diabetics handle that perfectly fine every day.
I’d be somewhat wary of using it for anything that requires even vaguely secure encryption. Passive RFID is infamous for it’s total lack of security, and any active tags with proper handshaking (last time I checked, admittedly some months ago) were too large for comfortable long-term subdermal implanting.
I’d love to hear if something new (and actually available for purchase) has come along though.
Lol yeah Lace DOES have the chip in his hand, and he had it implanted at a tattoo parlor with sterile instruments and whatnot :3
He’s awesome. I’m so excited his project was posted here!
Oh my gosh. I never expected that submission to be used. :D
@wosser
Funny you mention that, I went to a tattoo and body mod parlor to have the implant done ‘professionally’. :) The video and documentation are on separate blog posts on the site. (http://izationlabs.com/category/tech/rfid-tech/)
In general, I would have to disagree with the risks being high. [psuedonymous] hit the nail on the head. I had no personal problems, and nearly everyone else who has done it has had an easy go of it as well, we really did our homework. Check out Amal Graafstra’s RFID forums for more info, you’d be surprised how many people have done it!
Definitely wouldn’t use this for totally secure situations, however. My tag is easily clonable, and just like standard keyed locks, it would only take someone knowledgeable to copy the ‘key’. I just take heart in knowing that you can’t drag me to the local hardware store and ask the clerk to make a copy of my implant. :) It would take someone with some hacking skills (cough, like a lot of us who follow hackaday) to do the same with the tag.
Cheers!
RFID implants in hands for secure authentication will lead only to one thing: Chopped of hands. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4396831.stm)
Oh, well as long as it was done at a tattoo parlor…
all bibles should have locks on them until mankind figures out how to read them.