Electronic Tattoos

       For the past few years, a lot of helpful technological advances have been either made or discovered. Through the years, so much of these new things have been incorporated in our daily lives that we sometimes struggle to be without it. From cell phones, flat screen plasma TV’s, laptops, video special effects, air conditioning units and cars, the inventors believe that it is now time for us to start yet another piece of technology: electronic tattoos.

       Electronic tattoos are simply tattoos like microchips that will be implanted on the skin. Different companies have dreamt of a lot of uses of electronic tattoos, the most famous being using it in replacement of passwords and other security measures, and the most recent being using it to be a microphone attached to the throat.

       There are two versions of the electronic tattoos envisioned by Motorola: first as a means of security, the other as a form of convenience. As a means of security, Motorola has patented a tattoo and an electronic pill that would create certain electric impulses to replace a password. It is far more effective than biometrics since no one would be able to duplicate the data the tattoo or pill emits. The pill expires after a few hours, and was told to be safe.

       On the other hand, as a means of convenience, Motorola has patented a tattoo to be placed on the throat. It is made to be able to connect with a smartphone, a gaming device, a tablet, or even a computer via Bluetooth, NFC or ZigBee, etc. The tattoo is programmed to remove all the background noises during a phone call and take only sound using the vibrations made by the throat when speaking.

However, both of these patents are still far from being a reality. Motorola is going to be sold by Google to Lenovo, it was told that the research team will still be kept by Google. It is not the first time that Google has made endeavors to create new technology that seem far-off. They have also patented Google Glass, which is a computer in a reading glass.

This is like making the science fiction movies come true. Slowly, what those movie producers only imagined is turning into a reality. The tattoo for the throat is said to be also applicable to animals. Who knows what these super companies attempt next? Who knows what more gadgets we only ever see in TV and movies get to be a reality? What is the next step for technological advancement? Only time can tell.

References:

Derek Mead. November 12, 2013. Laugh At Google’s E-Tattoo All You Want, You’ll Be Wearing One Soon. http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/laugh-at-googles-e-tattoo-all-you-want-youll-be-wearing-one-soon. March 8, 2014.

Andrew Couts. November 12, 2013. Who Needs Headsets? Motorola Patents ‘Neck Tattoo’ Smartphone Accessory. http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/motorola-google-patents-throat-tattoo-microphone/#!y2k6o. March 8, 2014.

Google Glass website. http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/. March 9, 2014.

Liz Gannes. May 29, 2013. Electronic Tattoos and Passwords You Can Swallow: Google’s Regina Dugan Is a Badass. http://allthingsd.com/20130529/electronic-tattoos-and-passwords-you-can-swallow-googles-regina-dugan-is-a-badass/. March 9, 2014.


Karmela Rae T. Baldo
2013-18602