Accessibility links

Breaking News

US Company Holds 'Party' to Microchip Workers


Tony Danna, left, vice president of international development at Three Square Market in River Falls, Wis., receives a microchip in his left hand at company headquarters, Aug. 1, 2017. The company is making microchips available to its employees, allowing them to open doors, log onto their computers or buy breakroom snacks by simply waving their hands.
Tony Danna, left, vice president of international development at Three Square Market in River Falls, Wis., receives a microchip in his left hand at company headquarters, Aug. 1, 2017. The company is making microchips available to its employees, allowing them to open doors, log onto their computers or buy breakroom snacks by simply waving their hands.

Dozens of employees at a Wisconsin technology business were implanted with microchips Tuesday at the company's headquarters.

Three Square Market, also known as 32M, said 41 of its 85 employees agreed to be voluntarily microchipped during a "chip party." The chip, about the size of a grain of rice, was implanted into each person's hand using a syringe.

A microchip is shown compared with a dime, Aug. 1, 2017, at Three Square Market in River Falls, Wis., where the company held a "chip party" for employees who volunteered to have the microchip embedded in their hands.
A microchip is shown compared with a dime, Aug. 1, 2017, at Three Square Market in River Falls, Wis., where the company held a "chip party" for employees who volunteered to have the microchip embedded in their hands.

Company officials said the implants were for convenience. The radio frequency identification chip provides a way for staffers to open doors, log into computers, unlock things and and perform other actions without using company badges or corporate log-ons.

The chip is not a tracker, nor does it have Global Positioning System capability in it, so the boss can't track worker movements, company officials said.

Three Square Market said it was the first company in the United States to offer staff the technology similar to that used in contactless credit cards and in chips used to identify pets.

The implants, made by Sweden's BioHax International, are part of a long-term test aimed to see whether the radio frequency identification chips could have broader commercial applications.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG