Near Future RFID Anab Jain and Alex Taylor, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, October 2006 - May 2008	back
	In the theme 'Near Future RFID', we imagine a future where RFID tagging has become commonplace in our environment, in everyday objects, and in living organisms, including our own bodies. Re-writable, open-source tagging systems allow people to instrument their environments for aesthetic reasons. This 'hacking' extends to the body, as nano-scale sensors, both on and off the body, enhance the capabilities of individuals to attribute content and meaning to the world around them. The tagging systems are used as a performative resource as people manipulate, extend and constantly update their digital selves. The digital landscapes blend with the physical; beautiful, accessory like readers are carried and worn to sense the ever-changing social and spatial digital environment.   The above image is a glimpse of one of our scenarios, where RFID tagged wearable devices can be used ornamentally. Below are early prototypes of RFID tagged jewellery with content uploaded by the protagonist. A series of stickers were stuck in the city, as an urban intervention, to bring attention to the various playful and exciting uses of RFID. This image shows an extreme scenario where RFID tagging becomes a means of celebrating specific identities and social groupings. People even adorn themselves with elaborate tattoo-like antennas to transmit sensory information across relatively large distances. Notions of privacy are dramatically altered, as what we have known to be invisible is made visible and even appropriated into a new aesthetic sensibility.