HP announces grain-sized wireless memory chip

HP researchers have developed a memory chip with wireless network capabilities that is roughly the same size as a grain of rice, the company said Monday.

Prototypes of the Memory Spot chip developed by HP Labs contain 256K to 4MB of memory and transfer data at speeds as fast as 10Mbps. With this amount of storage, the chips can hold a short video clip, digital pictures or “dozens of pages” of text, HP said, adding that the chips do not require a battery.

Memory Spot chips get their power from a technique called inductive coupling, which lets power be transferred from one component to another through a shared electromagnetic field. In the case of Memory Spot, this power is supplied by the device that is used to read and write data on the chip.

Data stored on Memory Spot chips could be accessed using a variety of devices, such as specially equipped cell phones or PDAs, making the chips suitable for a range of applications, such as adhesive attachments applied to a paper document or printed photograph, HP said.

HP is considering different applications for the chip, but has yet to say when it will be available.

The Memory Spot is similar to RFID chips, which are designed to store information that can be read wirelessly. There are several important differences, however, one of which is range. Information on RFID chips can be read over relatively large distances; HP said Memory Spot readers must be “positioned closely” to access the data stored on the chip.