Biohacker Implants a Transponder in Her Arm to Start Her Tesla

The biohacking movement is all about meshing our imperfect, biological human bodies with technology. The goal is to use technological…

Cameron Coward
5 years ago

The biohacking movement is all about meshing our imperfect, biological human bodies with technology. The goal is to use technological augmentations to improve our bodies — or at least to add some convenience to our lives. Today, the most common of those augmentations is, by far, an RFID implant. With an RFID chip similar to those used for pet identification, you can use your hand to unlock doors, trigger tasks on your smartphone, and much more. Amie DD has recently taken that idea to the next level by implanting a transponder into her arm to start her Tesla.

This hack does involve a surgical operation, so the squeamish among you might want to avoid watching the video below. If this is something you want to do yourself, make sure you’re going to a professional and take all of the proper safety precautions, like Amie did. In this case, that meant removing the NFC chip and antenna from a Tesla valet key, and then encasing it in a special biopolymer that is safe for implantation. That step, which was done by Amal at VivoKey, is extremely important for ensuring that the implant is safe for the body.

Amie DD already has a fairly standard RFID implant in her hand, but was unable to get it working with her Tesla Model 3. For obvious reasons, the Tesla has additional layers of security that prevent users from simply cloning the RFID chip. Fortunately, replacement valet key cards are inexpensive — Amie DD just had to get the chip out of the plastic card. To do that, she immersed the card in acetone, allowing the plastic to be dissolved away. The chip and antenna were then sent off to VivoKey to be encased in biopolymer. After having the new implant professional placed under the skin in her forearm, Amie DD can now start up her Tesla with her own body!

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
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