Credit Cards for People with little Credit
Cards for people with little creditThe majority of cards are still made of passiv plastics with very little information saved on a magstripe. Intermediate cards (smart cards) contain a small microchip that allows a more reliable way of carrying out a transaction, but even these cards are quite inherently inactive. Palmborg's new credit cards are based on the principle of having a credit at the time of purchasing in order to avoid spending overruns.
His proposed credit cards are essentially a basic computer that can display the owner's account status using RFID technologies and allow him to make a sale using an integrated digital identity scanner. Even though the idea looks beautiful and is certainly appealing in both functionality and aesthetics, we can't help but wonder - how exactly will it work?
At present, transponders are not too widespread, and even if every shop had one, it might not be possible to use the unit at home. Moreover, it is not very safe and many people may think twice about using a wireless payment gateway. Electricity is another topic that needs to be considered.
Daily credit cards are passives that do not need electricity to function. Palmborg's map of the futures will at least take some extra electricity for the monitor and bioprobe. Possibly, electronics could cut electricity usage so much that RFID could provide the required amount of electricity. It could also run on a small rechargeable cell, but this might not be the best option, as most people will not see it positively when their credit cards stop working just as they were about to make an important buy.
As an alternative, the map of the near term could also use solar energy technologies recently backed by TFOT. Picture: Jacob Palmborg's credit cards design (Credit: Yanko Design). He holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Cognitive Science and an M.A. in Philosophy of Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
For his work on the relation between scientific research and technical research, Iddo was honoured with the 2006 Bar Hotel Scientificilosophy Award. Since 1999, he has been the publisher of several high-profile scientific and technological web sites.