A pint-sized virtual wallet; Company’s technology to be used in casinos; other planned uses include retail, health care |

Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

John Giobbi, the founder and CEO of the Bend-based startup Proxense LLC, holds up a prototype of a wireless sensor he envisions people will someday use as a virtual wallet. Behind him are associate Matt Davio, middle, and Dr. Ryan Gallivan, who is a supporter of the technology.

It sounds futuristic, but imagine paying for your morning latte with a wireless wallet that never leaves your pocket. Instead of leaving cash or a card, all you leave at the counter is your fingerprint.

Or seeing a new doctor without filling out reams of redundant forms because your medical history was downloaded the minute you entered the office.

These are just two of the possibilities John Giobbi and associate Matt Davio have developed for technology Giobbi has patented: a secure, proximity-based wireless communication system that makes use of pocket-size transmitters to share personal or financial data.

Or seeing a new doctor without filling out reams of redundant forms because your medical history was downloaded the minute you entered the office.

Giobbi and Davio live in Bend and work for Proxense LLC, the private company Giobbi founded in 2001 to develop the technology.

As Giobbi and Davio envision it, their technology would allow people to load personal data onto a small microchip. It would be fitted to a battery and then placed in a small key fob (like many car owners use to remotely unlock their vehicles) they could carry in their pocket. The chip would be readable by merchants, health care providers or other users once the user comes within range of antennas in a store or office.

“This could be your virtual wallet, your keys and your identification,” Giobbi said.

The thing that makes Giobbi’s technology different from existing RFID, or radio frequency identification, technology already in use with magnetic key cards and electronic toll collection systems is a much greater range — about 300 feet compared with a few inches — and its use of biometrics and two-way communication in order to authenticate and encrypt transactions, Giobbi said.

RFID chips are small, inexpensive and not usually powered, Giobbi said. Without power, they can’t perform encryption functions, unlike Giobbi’s. Giobbi said he has filed more than 25 patents on his technology.

“It’s extremely secure,” Giobbi said. “The security is the major part of the technology’s development.”

Dr. Ryan Gallivan, a Bend-based ear, nose and throat doctor whose son plays basketball with Giobbi’s son, said his jaw dropped when he first heard about the technology. Gallivan said the technology, because it’s proximity-based, could automate a doctor’s office in revolutionary ways.

It could, for instance, end the need to fill out forms as the patient’s entire medical history would be stored digitally in their key fob. It also could be loaded onto a chip and imbedded in the identity bracelet a patient gets when he or she checks into a hospital.

Another prospective use is attaching a sensor to a computer, making it log a user on or off depending on whether the user is close to it. This is a big deal, Gallivan said, because the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires that his computer log him out after more than 60 seconds of inactivity.

With a key fob in his pocket that could authenticate him when he neared the computer, Gallivan said he would be able to resume working without having to waste time logging back in. Gallivan estimates he signs onto his computer at least 250 times a day.

The technology also could be put to work tracking equipment, supplies or even employees in a hospital, said Giobbi, all of which could be monitored in real time like air traffic.

“This revolutionary technology will only serve to enhance patient experience in the hospital and clinic setting,” Gallivan said. “It will optimize efficiencies, but most importantly, it will save lives and improve quality of care. I could foresee most patients, offices, providers and electronic medical records companies around the country utilizing this technology.”

The company recently signed a deal to provide this tracking technology to casino information systems provider Bally Technologies Inc., for use in tracking chips, cash boxes and employees in casinos that contract with Bally, Giobbi said. The company also could use the technology to load rewards card data onto a guest’s key fob, which would replace the need to swipe a rewards card every time a guest sat down at a slot machine, he added. The technology could even be used to unlock a guest’s hotel door, based on their proximity to it, Giobbi said.

The technology also has a potential future in retail. Here’s how it might work at a coffee shop:

A customer enters the coffee shop and a sensor reads what the customer’s favorite drink is, thanks to a personalized profile the customer has created for the coffee shop and loaded onto his or her key fob. An employee or a computer monitor greets the customer with a personalized message and asks if he or she would like to order his or her favorite drink. The customer either says yes or touches the monitor screen to order the drink.

Upon ordering, the system would automatically retrieve the customer’s debit or credit number from the key fob. The customer would then authenticate the transaction by swiping his or her finger over a biometric fingerprint reader Giobbi has patented for use with his system. The reader would check to see if the fingerprint matches the customer’s fingerprint digitally loaded on his or her key fob.

This would be great in airports, said Giobbi, where a traveler’s hands are typically full and digging for a debit or credit card can be a hassle.

But, it begs a question which Giobbi said he hears all the time. If a fingerprint is required by his system to complete a financial transaction, does this put your finger at risk to thieves?

Giobbi said a finger loses its capacitance, or ability to carry an electrical charge, if it’s severed and that biometric fingerprint readers test for that, as well as heat and water content.

What happens if a key fob is lost? Giobbi said the data inside is encrypted and would be nearly impossible to hack without sophisticated software. In addition, Giobbi said that software would allow users to back up their data on their personal computers.

Proxense is Giobbi’s third startup. A software development graduate of Purdue University, he started a company in the late ’80s that developed a 3-D computer input device — “a mouse that works in midair” — and a software consulting firm. Prior to forming Proxense, Giobbi worked as the vice president of product development for slot machine manufacturer WMS Gaming in Chicago.

Giobbi moved to Bend in 2002, attracted to the region’s quality of life. Davio is the company’s business development manager and only other Bend-based employee. All of the company’s research and development occurs in West Palm Beach, Fla., where Proxense has an office and employs 10 engineers. Giobbi said he plans to open an office in Bend in the coming months and look for outside funding.

Giobbi said the technology is ready for deployment now in the retail and health care fields but estimates it will take a few years to get mass acceptance of the product.

Bend, however, may be one of the first communities to experiment with the technology. Giobbi would like to make the city a test case, primarily because of the region’s strong health care industry.

A pint-sized virtual wallet

Company’s technology to be used in casinos; other planned uses include retail, health care

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