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A Dutch traveler named Andreas Sjostrom rocked international headlines with a video of himself checking into an airport lounge and boarding his flight without presenting any paperwork or documents, but rather sliding his hand – which contained an implanted identification chip – over a scanner.
Apparently, the chip worked and Sjostrom, who is a vice president of digital for technology consulting at a company called Sogeti, was able to pass through the security point without fanfare.
“A few weeks ago, I had an NFC chip implanted into my hand, just beneath the skin,” he said, in his YouTube video of his travels through Stockholm Arlanda airport.”
Embedded on the chip was Sjostrom’s Scandinavian Airlines EuroBonus member identification number, which gives airline officials all the pertinent personal information they need to process him through security.
“I use[d] the chip to pass through … security, at the lounge, and finally through the gate to the aircraft,” he said, the Daily Mail reported.
And now other travelers can do the same.
The Daily Mail reported the near-field communication chip, or NFC, is available to implant at homes around the world, via kits from a development company called Dangerous Things.
The kits include microchips, surgical gloves and syringes, as well as sets of detailed instructions on how to implant.
Sjostrom said the process was painless and simple, the Daily Mail reported.
“It gave me a new sensation, sort of a pre-notion of what it will be like in the future when we don’t have to reach out with physical objects to accomplish things,” he said.
Massimo Pascotta, who works in the field of technology development, said the chip is a real boon to travelers.
“The point is you don’t need anything to be identified or recognized to go through a touch point,” Pascotta said, the Daily Mail reported. “Whether it’s security or a lounge, it’s a breakthrough … [and you don’t] need to care about carrying a boarding pass or device with you.”
