IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017 - 59

explore how emerging civilian uses of insertables could
be re-appropriated for military contexts.

Background
It is known that researchers, artists, and hobbyists are
augmenting their bodies in new ways by voluntarily
inserting non-medical devices. Our previous research [1]
found hobbyists are inserting:
1) radio frequency identification (RFID) and near field
communication (NFC) microchips,
2) neodymium magnets, and
3) bespoke devices for experimentation.
The primary use for insertable microchips is access
and authentication. This is consistent with Graafstra,
Michael, and Michael's description of do-it-yourself (DIY)
hobbyists as being "interested in novel convenience-oriented solutions" [2]. Magnets and bespoke devices are
used for sensorial extension and novel digital interactions such as opening doors and launching applications.

From Civilians to Military Use?
The RFID technology behind many of the insertable
microchips hails from WWII [3]. Similarly, the origins of
VeriChip, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved microchip, were quasi-military. The September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City engendered
Dr. Richard Seelig to self-insert RFID chips after seeing
first responders writing their badge numbers on themselves for post-mortem identification [4]. Seelig went on
to found VeriChip. Seelig founded VeriChip, however,
not for his earlier purpose of security and identification, but rather to access medical and health records
[5]. With commercial availability, VeriChip engendered
a wave of insertable chips for use as bio-inert RFID
chips. These were easy to source and re-appropriated
[6]-[8]. We explore how these current and near future
uses of insertables could be re-appropriated for
military purposes.

Current Uses
Currently possible uses for insertable devices that could
be useful for military purposes are: access and authentication, data storage, and transfer and input triggers.

Access and Authentication
A primarily use for microchips is access and authentication [1]. RFID and NFC microchips are used as alternatives for carrying keys or wearing swipe cards or
dongles for entry into workplaces or other physical and
logical (digital) access points. These insertables allow a
person to, in effect, become the interface, allowing digital interactions without peripheral devices. For many,
insertables are an impermanent permanent solution in
that they cannot forget them as an insertable becomes
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part of their body, yet the chips still can be removed
when a person chooses. It is not difficult to imagine military personnel using insertables for this purpose - for
access to secure areas, military vehicles, and bases,
rather than using keys or passes which can more easily
be lost or stolen. Indeed we have already seen this use
in the Mexico Attorney General's office to access secure
areas [7].
Military identification tokens - dog tags in one form
or another - have been around since 1870 [9]. This antiquated technology used to identify injured deceased
soldiers is fallible; dog tags can be lost in combat. As

The primary use for insertable
microchips is access and
authentication.

dog tags are physically visible they can also be removed
after death. Just as wearable dog tags on animals have
been replaced with ID microchips under the skin so that
they cannot be lost, Seelig's original vision [10] could
identify fallen soldiers more quickly and easily, rather
than relying on slow dental records when dog tags or
traditional identification methods are not possible.

Data Storage and Transfer
Some individuals are using microchips to store small
amounts of information that they can share with others
who have the correct NFC or RFID reader. For example,
transferring contact details to a NFC-capable Android or
Windows phone (Apple phones have not yet opened the
NFC capabilities for uses other than ApplePay). The
microchips are completely hidden and invisible to
the naked eye and, therefore difficult to intercept if their
existence is unknown to enemies. The current range of
these devices is very short, requiring the chip to be
brought directly to the reader, in many cases physically
touching it, making unknown access unlikely for civilians. Keeping these ranges short may be a useful design
for security; however if widespread proliferation in the
military became commonplace, or the use of these
chips was known, security would have to be improved
for small amounts of sensitive and classified information to be stored on military insertables.

Input Triggers
As one participant in our research interviewing individuals with insertables said, a chip "can do anything,

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