Sub Cutaneous Human Interaction Technology at WDS09

• In: Blog
• By: John
• April 1, 2009

Web Directions continues to push the envelop of technology use at our conferences. From our own social networking applications like web connections, to unique visualizations of twitter and flickr traffic, bluetooth video messages from speakers and attendees and much more, we are at the forefront of innovation.

So, Web Directions South 2009, we are excited to announce the next step in conference technology, which will be having its world debut our conference. Sub Cutaneous Human Interaction Technology, from Berlin-based ScheizerTech uses low powered Radio Frequency ID, but rather than applying these to easily lost, or transferred name badges, these are injected (don’t worry, it’s a completely safe, sterile and largely pain free process that takes only seconds) just below the skin, and continue to work for around 40 hours. After that time, its battery runs out, and it will eventually be expelled by your body’s immune system, leaving a barely noticeable scar that in years to come will be a badge of honor that you were one of the earliest users of this exciting technology that is destined to be used in prisons, schools, workplaces, cinemas and amusement parks around the world.

SCHIT will allow you (and us) to track your, and other attendees every move throughout the conference, and to visualize the interactions between attendees. For example, you’ll be able to use it in conjunction with Flickr photos to remember who that hot geek you met at the reception was, even though you forgot their name, and most of what happened after about 7pm that evening. Or, you’ll be able to work out the name of that creepy person who keeps sitting just nearby, but avoids eye contact - and via our control panel, set an alarm to go off when they come within 5m, or even to send them an unpleasant, but non-lethal shock when they get too close.

It will allow us to track how many, and who, leaves presentations early, so we can assess whether they were called away to an important meeting, had to go to the toilet, or whether the speaker was terrible, which speakers were popular, and who wasn’t, and to find out who is costing us a fortune in Pepsi Max, by drinking about 37 cans of the stuff over the two days of the conference. We have our suspicions, but this will solve that problem once and for all. You did read the conference EULA right? In all, it will help use provide our attendees with a better all round experience - what’s not to like?

But, best of all, we’re building the sorts of visualization technology that NASA uses to show distant galaxies, and are featured at sites like Flowing Data.

Sure, a few human rights groups, and other do-gooders like the EFF will most likely raise civil rights, privacy, and other objections, and we’ll hear whining from freedom-hating blogs like Boing Boing, we honestly feel that the trade off against the many benefits, for the attendees, ourselves, and humanity are well and truly worth the small imposition and minor pain - and VERY small risk of infection and cancer - that the technology might cause.

We know you’ll embrace SCHIT, just as we have, and are eagerly anticipating the look on the face of the first person though the door at Web Directions South 2009 in October.

Your opinion:

Images:

The images are downsized due to limited space here. The original dimensions may differ.
Click on the image to open it on a new tab.