Russian engineer inserts smart chip under his skin

THERE’S smart technology — and then there’s this.An engineer has inserted a chip from his public transport card under his skin. The results aren’t quite what he expected.

THERE’S smart technology — and then there’s this.

A Russian engineer sliced open his own hand in a DIY operation to insert a chip from a public transport smart card under his skin.

It means that every time Vlad Zaitsev goes to ride the Moscow subway, he only needs to place his hand by the scanner to pass through the gates.

Despite a gruesome scar, Mr Zaitsev said the chip, from a Troika public transport card, hadn’t caused him any pain and there were no complications afterwards.

“It is the perfect solution to not have to worry about losing an expensive season ticket ... although I admit it’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea,” he said.

Now that’s commitment.

He coated the chip in silicon before implanting it to prevent infection but admits that the plan has not worked as well as he had hoped.

“Not all of the scanners seem to have a very strong signal to read the Troika card, and they don’t always manage to read the chip.”

But he said he had no regrets and added: “The main thing was that I wanted to know what it felt like to have achieved under the skin, it actually opens up a whole range of possibilities and I think anybody else that tries it will quickly see what I mean.”

Like public transport smartcards around the world, Moscow’s Troika cards are recharged at local shops and are used to pay for commuter trains and express trains to and from airports serving the country’s capital. Troika cards can be also used to rent bikes in the city centre during the summer.

Mr Zaitsev said he had also been able to program the chip to unlock his office.

He now plans to have a second chip from his credit card implanted into his left hand so he can use it to pay for things when he goes shopping.

“I can’t imagine anybody stealing my credit card if I have implanted under the skin of my hand.”

Unfortunately some scanners aren’t sensitive enough to pick up the chip under his scan.

Originally published as Russian engineer inserts smart chip under his skin