Ever wondered if there could ever be a toy out there that could perform parental duties? While we're far away from robot dads and moms, the Nabaztag Wi-Fi Bunny can perform one very important parental duty - and that's reading bedtime stories to sleepy little tots. Check out how it makes your dad's rendition of Cinderella look like a dry lesson in Trigonometry after the jump.

    

If you've ever taken the time to take care of your grandmother, one of the thankless chores you'll probably end up doing for her is helping her dial someone's number on the phone. However, this isn't a chore that you may end up doing forever.

Korean designer Jeong-Kyun Nam was able to conceptualize a phone that makes use of unique RFID caller badges rather than dialing the phone number of the person you want to contact. Such a design makes operating a phone for elderly people easier for them in the long run.

Dubbed as the T-Phone, this concept phone allows you to program and store number onto special ID badges that you can easily identify by placing pictures or easy to read names. After setting the numbers for every badge, all it takes is slotting the appropriate badge into the T-Phone and there you have it - call completed!

Jeong-Kyun Nam has received several awards for arts and designs over the past years and hopes to deliver the concept T-Phone to homes everywhere where elderly grandparents are in need of dialing assistance. With innovative designs such as these, this just goes to prove that mobile technology has gone a long way since the concept of wireless communication started.

There are many existing doubts about RFID tagging, such as possible breach of privacy. Now there's another grave possibility looming over the high-tech technology that is RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), and that is the likelihood of RFID implants causing cancer.

A few years ago, the US. Food and Drug Administration approved the practice of implanting RFID tags in humans after finding the RFID tags "reasonably safe", and brought about much-needed innovation to medical science (one of which is letting doctors access medical records instantaneously).

However, a number of veterinary and toxicology studies revealed that the implants actually caused malignant tumors in laboratory mice and rats. The cause? Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, said that the culprit is the RFID's transponder device used to send data.

The news disturbed even the leading cancer specialists, with some encouraging others to practice further caution before the glass transponder implants become an easily accessible commodity. Other specialists even claimed that they would not let allow family members to have RFID tags implanted in their bodies.

"We stand by our implantable products which have been approved by the FDA and/or other U.S. regulatory authorities," said Scott Silverman, CEO of VeriChip, one of the leading RFID manufacturers. He continued that they were not aware of studies that resulted in malignant tumors in laboratory animals that were brought about by the implants.


Check out the Read link to read the full report!

Vending machines that churn out bicycles are starting to get a foothold in Europe. This initiative could help lessen traffic as well as pollution in urban environments.

To rent a bike, customers can just pay a small fee to get one from a bike dispenser. They would then be able to ride it wherever they pleased and then return it to another bike machine at or near their destination. For security, the bikes will come loaded with RFID tags to prevent people from running off with them.

The Via link below leads to a website for a bike dispenser in Amsterdam. France is also reportedly getting in on the whole bike vending idea, and the initiative is also set to be put on a trial run in London.

Parents, this may be the ultimate solution to your problem.

Wireless tracking systems to trace objects and even people are now being developed by Siemens and Motorola, two of the leading names in wireless communications technology. Both companies presented the possibility of using wireless networks in conjunction with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) at The Wireless Event, held in London.

RFID may sound alien to you, but you probably have encountered it many times in your day-to-day life. Certain major retailers use RFID tags on their products, although RFID can only permit tracking and identification on a very limited range, just enough to track items within the store premises (so there is no cause of any worries for privacy issues...for now). Many countries also use RFID technology in passports as well as transport payments, such as toll collection. Some libraries even use RFID tags on their books, CDs and DVDs, and VHS tapes.

RFID tags alone are passive - they do not have their own power source, and thus only transmit a response when read by a scanner. However, when coupled with current wi-fi technology, RFID can be used for tracking stolen laptops, phones, and even teenagers who managed to sneak out of their windows.

The possibilities are endless: Students can be tracked whenever an emergency - such as a fire or earthquake - arises, and even make retrieving lost items much easier. Employee activities can also be monitored in much more detail, "You can record movements over a period of time. You can see if the security guard in the night makes the right rounds, for example," said Mr. Marcus Birkl, head of wireless at Siemens. He adds, "It's very useful for the health care industry - where there are highly expensive pieces of mobile equipment that move around a hospital...At every point in the day health staff need to know where it is." Indeed, the use of RFID with wi-fi would spare a lot of headaches, especially for people working in Facilities Management.

Of course, this has prompted mixed response from the public. Some consumers have expressed concerns regarding the possibility of using RFID and wi-fi in consumer spending trends, as well as increased likelihood of breach of privacy. Majority of the respondents of a recent pan-Europe consultation about RFID have even agreed that regulations should be put in place to monitor the use of tags.

Mr. Birkl agrees on the regulations issue. "There needs to be standards put in place so the data is not abused for other purposes," said Mr Birkl. "But there are clear benefits to keeping people safe."

Sorry, kids. Looks like you won't be able to sneak out of the house anymore.

Well, it doesn't have the requisite magnifying glass, fork, or switchblade folded into its inner machinations, but the KeyPort SLIDE promises to have the same amount of utility as far as entry is concerned.

Boasting a sleek, modern finish, a number of ambitious features - "integrating everything on your keychain into one universal access device" - it's definitely worth looking at if you're having too many jingling moments when you're fishing for your car keys.

Other features include:

• Modular design: several port configurations for the Keyport SLIDE allow it to accommodate up to six keys at a time, along with various high tech features.
• Key reduction: All standard keys are compatible.
  
• Thumb slider: Want to use a key? Simply push one of the individually-coded buttons on either side of the shell and your chosen key will be deployed via a sliding mechanism that locks firmly into place.
  
• Simple installation: Forget the nail-breaking torture of prying open those key rings. The KeyPort SLIDE promises to eliminate such hassle by letting you remove or replace keys easier.
• Eyehook:  The KeyPort SLIDE's eyehook lets you attach it to a bag or to other loose objects if needed.
• Custom features: Make your KeyPort SLIDE stand out. Choose from a variety of colors and options to suit your needs.
• Remote Frequency Identification (feature under development): An integrated RFID for remote keyless entry. Not much is known about this one, as it's still being developed, but we'll keep you updated.
• Alarm Remote (feature under development): Again, under development, but the promised "built-in secure access to your vehicle" has our attention.
• Flashlight (feature under development): Pretty-self explanatory.
  

If you're wondering about how to get that bulky mass of metal into the neat, compact slots of the SLIDE, Keyport reassures potential buyers that "converting into Keyport is as simple as having each of your keys copied to a compatible blank and attached to the internal slider apparatus." That doesn't sound too bad at all, considering you won't ever have to deal with a noisy keyring ever again.

The KeyPort SLIDE isn't out yet, but we'll be here to keep you informed when it gets released.

A lot has been said about Nintendo's Wii and DS systems bringing innovative gameplay interfaces to the videogame industry, but at GDC, the idea that mobiles could "out-Wii" the Wii has been put forth.

In his GDC Mobile session, developer and academic Paul Coulton talked about a few of the innovative ways mobiles could be used to play new kinds of games. RFID technology was mentioned, and Coulton demonstrated how game developers could incorporate it into their games to create "fun experiences in the real world."

Coulton also noted that potentially more important is the advent of motion-sensing technology in mobile handsets like the Nokia 5500. Coulton showed a few simple tilt-ball games as well as more sophisticated driving games that use the technology.

"The possibilities are endless with this technology. It's about thinking of new ways to play games, that might be played by very different people than we are used to," he said. "Wii has had an amazing impact but this technology in mobile phones could ultimately be even more dramatic."

While the possibilities are indeed very exciting, Coulton acknowledged that there are "challenges ahead in making use of these technologies." As for mobiles actually managing to out-Wii the Wii, we're not holding our breaths just yet. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

Miniaturization's good and all (it leads to a lot of cool ship upgrades in Galactic Civilizations II) but this recent post on Pink Tentacle is something else entirely.

Remember the whole RFID issue? While it certainly has its uses, a lot of people are still kind of freaked out by the whole RFID thing. If you're one of those people, prepare to get even more scared. The aforementioned Pink Tentacle article zooms in on Hitachi's new "powder" chips, which measure in at 0.05mm x 0.05mm. These new chips are 64 times smaller than the previous record holder - 0.4mm x 0.4mm mu-chips - yet are still able to hold a 128-bit ROM that can store a unique 38-digit ID number.

We concur that these chips will most likely be used for anti-counterfeit and anti-theft stuff, but since these things are actually small enough to get inhaled, conspiracy theorists should find it ridiculously easy to formulate new theories regarding Big Brother and the Number of the Beast.

RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, is one of those newfangled automatic identification methods that have incurred the wrath of those concerned with privacy issues as well as some religious groups. RFID relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders.

Now, after being labelled by some groups as the new Mark of the Beast (other forms of ID such as credit cards and UPS codes have been labelled as such), RFID is proving its use in some hazardous situations.

Malmberget mine in Sweden has been using RFID for improving the safety of the worker since the 2003. In the mine, several access points are installed at strategic locations. Whenever a worker comes within the reading range of the access point, he gets recognized and registered as he is equipped with an active RFID tag.

The RFID system being implemented in the Malmberget mine allows workers to be given a deadline as of when they must have exited the mine. If they have not left before this deadline, an alarm will be triggered. The automatic routing of alarms to the correct recipient also converts "alarm-time" into "rescue-time". By use of a map edit tool, it also allows for the placement of physical components on the same map background as the worker whereabouts are displayed.

This system certainly is of great help during mine accidents. If an accident were to happen in the mine, the flight recorder flashes the number and last location of the miners, allowing for faster rescue response time. However, while this sounds like a great system, there are always the privacy issues that accompany RFID systems. Hackers have already demonstrated that the VeriChip RFID chips are not as secure as they have been made out to be, and this has increased the controversy surrounding the chips.

  

King Of The Hill character Dale Gribble would probably have a thing or two to say about this one. Scientists at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland have developed nanocomputers that can perform basic logic operations. These tiny computers use a technique called molecular computational identification (MCID), which can function as ID tags for nanoscale machinery.

This development grew out of research on molecules that work like silicon logic gates. The molecules use the presence of a chemical, or chemical compound as inputs, while giving off light as output, allowing the devices to communicate using binary and Boolean terms. Operators such as "YES," "NOT", "NOR" and "AND" would be indicated depending on whether these logic gates light up, according to the chemicals present. Molecular computation could eventually allow for billions of calculations to occur simultaneously in a test tube.

These molecular ID tags are similar to the "radio frequency identification" (RFID) tags found on silicon chips, which broadcast a unique ID when they receive input. The smallest are just 0.3 millimetres to a side. This is too large for the type of applications for Prasanna de Silva and his colleagues hope to use these microscopic marvels, which require that tags be attracted to individual cells.

Eventually, the ID process will be automated. Molecular combinations would simply be read off like "numbers from a license plate," as de Silva says.

"What really makes the numbers go through the roof is combining operations," de Silva says. Combinations of logical functions can create large numbers of unique tags by giving each one a different output. Bathing them in the various input chemicals that would display answers in the form of fluorescence.

These tags have tremendous implications medical research, allowing medical professionals to tag and identify individual cells.  They promise to be useful for nanotechnologists in keeping track of large numbers of tiny nanostructures. No doubt, Big Brother and his corporate cronies have their own ideas for this as well...maybe Hank Hill's paranoid friend isn't so far off the mark.