Ha! Look — active RFID tags with no need for batteries. Surgically inserted between muscle fibers for subcutaneous tags (like the ID or medical tags of the DS world), or taped onto the skin for external (read: removable) tags (eg, credit tags, or tags relating to your wireless service accounts — you’d probably have a separate tag for each account, like credit cards, and wouldn’t always carry all of them).

With powerful enough, small enough computer components, you could run full-on nanocomputers on the tags, using this generator as the constant power supply. It’d be just enough to run a networking stack & small webserver. Then networking terms like “ping the ports on your tag” actually become meaningful. TCP/IP over RFID.

Boost the signal, and that RFID tag is looking a lot more like something with Bluetooth capabilities. Maybe even WiFi. (The major differences being transmit power, thus range, and bandwidth. Ignore differences in frequency as irrelevant details.)

How do you boost transmit power? Boost input power: use more of these generators. Hook some to the diaphragm, chest muscles or heart for constant sources of movement. Then your tags really do know when you’re dead: they’re not getting any more power. Then bad grinds really can stop your heart.

Hell, with enough of ‘em, your metal-tipped fingers really could generate a resuscitative shock.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the power source for all the grinds you can imagine.

How did WE know??

Holy crap holy crap holy crap.