Digital Angel

US-based Digital Angel is developing products and services which combine biosensor technology with web-enabled wireless telecommunications linked to Global Positioning Systems. Accordingly, they can monitor the key body functions of a human or animal, and transmit that data along with accurate location information, to a ground station or monitoring facility so that they can be monitored and tracked by loved ones. Their whereabouts can even be viewed on a map over the internet - sort of like tracking your freight on fedex.com - only this monitors the condition of the person being tracked too.

While not everybody will be as comfortable putting a microchip inside gran and the kids as they are with tagging the family pet, you'll never need to worry about the whereabouts of your loved ones again. But not the Jacobs family of Florida - the first entire family to get the Verichip implants, which also provide medical and identity information.

The system is already being used in a variety of innovative solutions, including monitoring the vital stats of at-risk patients, farm animal management systems, locating stolen property, managing commodity supply chains, monitoring the location of parolees and providing a tamper-proof means of identification for enhanced e-commerce security. One company is using it for fleet management. Similarly, the whereabouts of the Porsche, the company car or any other item of value can be tracked with a chip secreted inside. DA is seeking Australian distribution. If you're interested in GPS, see our Casio GPS Watch review on page 67 and visit www.digitalangel.net.