It’s like something pulled straight from a sci-fi plot – the power to unlock doors using a microchip implanted in your hand.
But for one US couple, it’s a part of their day-to-day life.
TikToker and self-professed “innovator,” Burgundy Waller (or @Chipgirlhere) took to the platform on Tuesday to detail how their microchips work.
The footage shows the girl walking through her huge modern house, unlocking doors by waving her hand over a sensor.
“I even have a chip in my hand that’s used as a key to unlock all the things in our house,” she explains.
In addition to doors, one video shows Ms. Waller unlocking draws.
She explained the “whole house” had chip access as “proof of concept.”
Her “tech husband”, @Chipguyhere, who reportedly programmed the couple’s house also has the chip implanted in his hand.
One video shows the person opening a cupboard along with his hand. In his video, a bump on the highest if his hand, presumably the chip, is clearly visible.
“Look, my hand is a key,” he said.
The LA couple, who for essentially the most part keep their personal lives under wraps, were chipped between their thumb and pointer fingers in 2020 and have been documenting their journey since.
The pair’s dog is even named “Chip Pup.”
However the technology, much like that of a hotel room swipe key, has proven a serious ick for many on the web.
“We usually are not machines,” one commenter on TikTok asserted.
“This seeming a bit too Black Mirror for me,” one other wrote in reference the dystopian Netflix series which depicts the human struggle manipulative effects of innovative technology of their personal lives.
Others found humor within the innovation.
“I’d still forget my hand at home,” one commenter wrote.
“Man, I want this for my snacks with six kids,” one other joked.
Nonetheless, they’re not the one ones dabbling within the chips implanted in bodies.
The BBC reported in April, Paul Paumen, a security guard from the Netherlands, was implanted with a chip in his hand which allowed him to pay on contactless card readers.
European tech firm Walletmor in 2021 opened the primary business enterprise into implanted contactless payment, and as of August this hear, has sold over 1,000 implants.
The going rate for the implant is roughly $302 USD.
In 2018, numerous Swedish employees at a digital hub called Epicentre volunteered to have chips implanted which opened doors, operated printers and opened storage lockers.
In 2020, EU Factcheck reported that about 6000 Swedes had been chipped. But chipping reached its peak between 2014 and 2016, and was on the decline.