AIRLINES will one day have a much tougher time losing your luggage, thanks to
the development of virtually indestructible plastic microchips. When built into
an intelligent ID tag, they will be able to store information about the owner of
the luggage—making it harder to lose. Being flexible, the circuitry should
stand up to careless baggage-handling and the rough and tumble of an aircraft
hold.
The microchips, which are based on plastic transistors, can now be made to
contain enough plastic transistors for use in some simple applications,
according to a letter in this week’s Nature. Bell Labs in New…
