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Tech Primer
Memory Spot Chip
 A
Memory Spot Chip is an Integrated Circuit developed by Hewlett Packard. It is
presently in the R&D stage and may take up to two years to reach the market.
The chip has been designed and built at HP’s laboratory at Bristol, and
is half the size of a grain of rice. Despite this size, it incorporates a processor,
memory, and wireless receiver—all in 2 x 4 mm2. The silicon can store data
ranging from 256 kilobits to 4 megabits. The chip doesn’t require batteries;
it gets power by induction from the device that is used to read data off it.
Users can store audio, short video clips, or hundreds of pages of text on this
chip. It supports SHA-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm) authentication, and access can
be restricted. It also supports on-chip encryption using the on-board processor.
Memory Spot Chips can also be read from a distance of 1.5 mm or less.
Uses of Memory Spot
The chip is expected to be inexpensive. Its small size makes
it ideal for embedding in any object like paper, sticking on any surface, making
into a book of self-adhesive dots, and so on. The chip can be used to make an
audio photo by attaching a chip and printing photographs, and adding music,
commentary or ambient sound to enhance the photographs. It can also be used
to make document notes by attaching it to paper documents with the chip, including
the history of all corrections and additions made to the text, as well as voice
notes and graphical images. Tags that prevent counterfeiting, security passes,
photocopies, and digital post cards are other potential applications. It can
also be used in pharmaceuticals and health-care. In a hospital, patients can
be tagged with wristbands that hold information about the patient’s medical
history. The chip can also be used to keep track of a doctor’s notes and
the patient’s progress. It can be encoded with information and attached
to a bottle of pills to verify the authenticity of drugs and provide information
such as side-effects and harmful reactions.
Memory Spot vs other technologies
This chip is designed to enhance real world items like menus, advertising cards,
travel brochures, and photos. Some features that it has in common with RFID
is that it stores data, transmits it over a wireless link, and operates without
a battery. The Memory Spot is based on CMOS (complementary-symmetry/metal-oxide
semiconductor). Information can be accessed using a read-write device positioned
close to the chip, and then powered so that stored data can be transferred to
the display of a PDA (personal digital assistant), camera or phone, and printed
out as a hard copy. Using the reader one can easily extract information stored
on the chips, and various devices can be used to store or add information. Data
can be erased and re-written several times as it includes NAND flash. Current
wireless transfer of data is done at 10 Mbps, faster than short range radio
systems such as Bluetooth and RFID. A Memory Spot Chip can transfer data 10
times faster than Bluetooth at rates comparable to Wi-Fi.
RFID chips are larger, being 5 to 8 cm in size (excluding the antenna), whereas
Memory Spot measures 2 mm sq with an integrated antenna. The drawback of a Memory
Spot Chip is that it’s more expensive than a passive RFID tag, and has
a short read range.
Who’s making it
It’s presently being developed by Hewlett Packard. In Japan, telco NTTDoCoMo
has made a device where individuals can make wireless payments using a near-field
communication chip called Felica developed by Sony.
— Garima Grover
grover_garima@hotmail.com
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