He wants to be India's first digiman

Jaipur: It was a hot Indian summer evening. Rubinder Singh was busy looking up new hidden cameras on the internet. The television was tuned to Discovery channel. Occasionally, he would lift his head off the laptop. This was also the time when he would check out TV.

Then he saw something that glued his eyes on the TV. It was a show about an implanted microchip.

The 37-year-old mechanical engineer made a quick decision: He wanted a chip like that under his skin.

He dreamt of the day when he'll be able log on to his computers or unlock his house and turn on the lights without lifting a finger, functions that the scientist was able to do in the Discovery show.

Unique passion

That was the beginning of his unique passion. The first reaction of his folks at home was bewilderment. Like any other Indian middleclass family would, they twitched at the idea. However, gradually it sank in.

Rubinder Singh then looked for a doctor who would place into his wrist what is technically called the implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip. It is similar to the biochips that have been used to identify pets and livestock for years.

Once the chip is implanted, Rubinder would be the first Indian to do so. Not surprising, the engineer is already inviting advertising offers.

"After it was reported in the newspaper, a tyre company approached me and requested if I could wear a t-shirt bearing its name on the day of the surgery. 'You would be on TV that day and we can work out the payments later,' they said. I am happy I am already a celeb with the decision," the Jaipur-based engineer said.

Rubinder has already imported a chip, which cost him roughly Rs4,000 (Dh333), and has even spoken to a doctor, who would make a little incision into his wrist in order to insert the chip.

Procedure

The doctor is an orthopaedician, but he is upbeat about the surgery. "It will be my first. As a matter of fact, no one in the country has ever done this kind of operation. I am even consulting doctors abroad who have earlier performed this procedure," Dr Anoop Jhurani said.

Rubinder always fantasised about merging humans and machines. After doing his Masters in Mechanical Engineering, he worked for AT&T Labs, but soon realised he wanted to be on his own. The engineer then set up his business dealing in security systems and solutions. He also markets hidden cameras. His work station is littered with microchips, motherboards, circuits and wires. Now, he plans to control access to it swiping the wrist containing the chip. For this, he would install RFID chip readers, also called interrogators, on the door. He has similar ideas for logging on to his computer and for driving his car.

Rubinder's doctor has approached the Indian Medical Association for its approval for the surgery. The doctor wants to make sure there are no ethical and legal issues involved before he puts Rubinder under the knife.

But Rubinder is confident he would become India's first digital man before Diwali, the Indian festival of lights.