This temporary tattoo can control your smartphone
This temporary tattoo can control your smartphone
By Steven Overly August 17 at 2:59 PM
DuoSkin’s metallic tattoos allow people to create three
types of user interfaces on their skin. (Jimmy Day)
Scientists at the MIT Media Lab and Microsoft Research
have designed metallic body art that can control and communicate with
electronic devices, such as smartphones or laptops.
DuoSkin temporary tattoos, which can be made at home and
wash off in a day, use the electrodes present in inexpensive gold leaf to
create a conductive surface. The gold leaf and a thin layer of silicone adhere
to the body to create an “interface” on the skin that when touched can indicate
certain commands to your electronic devices.
The researchers developed three different types of
tattoos. The first acts as a touchpad to control a computer cursor or adjust a
music player. The second uses thermochromic pigments that change color when
body temperature rises. Finally, the
third uses near field communication technology to transmit personal data, such
as photos, between your phone and the tattoo.
The scientists wanted to show that wearable technology
can be really customizable.
“It’s something that you own and not a one-size-fits-all
wearable. You can design it and it can really cater to your needs and your
personal sense of style,” said Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, one of the researchers
behind the project.
More than just a fashion accessory, the DuoSkin tattoos
further blur the line between the human body and technology.
The wearable technology trend pioneered by smartwatches
and eyeglasses has exploded in recent years, as a broad range of devices and
sensors that affix to the body have become popular with consumers. In many
cases these gadgets collect personal information about users’ health and
activities on the premise that they help to optimize our everyday lives.
But as much as consumers have embraced wearable
technology, a Pew Research study from last month shows people are decidedly
less bullish on technology that enhances our abilities from inside the body. A
majority of Americans surveyed expressed at least some concern about brain
chips, synthetic blood and gene editing, three technologies that could improve
human health and performance by altering our physical being.
DuoSkin is not nearly so invasive, but the epidermis is,
quite literally, our final barrier.
“What we found is people in our studies appreciated that
they had control over it. They could decide when to wear it and when to remove
it,” Kao said.
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