The American-Israeli company Aladdin has developed a ‘XCD‘ which has optical storage capacity with an embedded smart card chip.

The embedded chip is connected to an electrode on the surface of the one side of the disc. The outer edge of the disc is cut so that the electrodes might protrude and it can be plugged and played into an USB port.

Aladdin thinks that it will allow the content sold on DVDs and CDs to be digitally locked. Music, videos and data can be stored optically while the encryption keys can be stored in this embedded chip. The inventors imagine the technology could be used to lock and unlock protected contents.

Via: Newscientisttech39605