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Digital Tattoo Interface as Cell Phone Interface  (Source: Core77)

Digital Tattoo Interface details  (Source: Core77)
Engineer creates a tattoo display powered by blood you can hide from your mother

For many researchers and scientists, the Holy Grail when it comes to power for mobile electronics and other devices is to harness the natural energy of our bodies rather than relying on batteries.

An engineer named Jim Mielke has invented a display that is wireless and powered by blood. The display would be implanted into the body between the skin and the muscle as a tight roll. According to Mielke the roll would then unfurl and position itself between muscle and the skin.

Once unfurled, the display would get its power from the blood. Specifically a small fuel cell would have leads hooked up to an artery and a vein allowing for blood to flow through a blood fuel cell that converts the oxygen and glucose in the blood into electricity.

The display is currently only a concept and was designed for the Core77 Greener Gadgets Design Competition. It has top and bottom display surfaces with matching matrixes of field-producing pixels. The top of the display will also act as a touch-screen control interface linked to other electronic devices via Bluetooth.

The device could be used as a tattoo to display ever changing custom artwork on the body and unlike existing tattoos; this one can be turned off by pressing a small dot on the arm. The small 2 x 4-inch display could also be used as a secondary display for a mobile phone and allow the user to see video of the caller or text information right on the skin.

Mielke says, “[When a call comes in] the tattoo comes to life as a digital video of the caller. When the call ends, the tattoo disappears.” Some may see the use of an invasive display to be potentially harmful. However, Mielke says the device could also be used to warn users of blood borne illnesses. This could be a great device for continuous monitoring of blood glucose levels for diabetics.

This is the second device DailyTech has reported on this week that has to do with blood. Some HOV lanes in the UK are being outfitted with cameras that detect the amount of blood inside a vehicle to determine if more than one person is in the vehicle.

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That is the coolest thing....
By Connoisseur on 2/27/2008 1:47:21 PM , Rating: 2
That i've seen in a long time. They don't even COVER that in scifi movies. I wonder if they get this technology advanced enough if they can use it for other purposes... such as camouflage.




RE: That is the coolest thing....
By lamborghini on 2/27/08, Rating: -1
RE: That is the coolest thing....
By Connoisseur on 2/27/2008 2:28:09 PM , Rating: 2
I don't recall displays built into skins in the Matrix series...


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By ABorealis on 2/27/2008 6:47:21 PM , Rating: 2
So when you go to sleep, does it go on stand by??


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By JimmyC on 2/29/2008 7:50:12 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not going to install it until they release SP1 anyway.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 2/27/2008 1:51:37 PM , Rating: 5
**Meet a chick at the bar**

"Hey, lemme give you my number... do you have a pen?"
"No, but I'll go ahead and punch it into my forearm."


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By daftrok on 2/27/2008 2:08:51 PM , Rating: 2
Genius.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By Omega215D on 2/27/2008 3:16:59 PM , Rating: 5
He said a bar so instead of "Genius" it would be "Brilliant!" What ever did happen to that commercial?

Speaking of bars how long till this thing starts displaying your Blood alcohol content?


By FliGuyRyan on 2/28/2008 12:14:34 AM , Rating: 3
*Genius in bar*

"Dude... did you get version 3.1?"

"No, why?"

"Now we can hack the system and override our alcohol levels..."

"BRILLIANT!"


By VahnTitrio on 2/27/2008 2:37:39 PM , Rating: 2
I would think it would me more useful in getting chicks than keeping track of their numbers. That or freaking people out by having it change every so often.

What I wouldn't give to be able to play Tetris on my arm, awesome.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By FITCamaro on 2/27/2008 2:50:44 PM , Rating: 2
Then they run screaming as your arm lights up with numbers.

THE MACHINES ARE HERE!!!!


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By eye smite on 2/27/2008 3:02:27 PM , Rating: 4
Call me a stick in the mud, but I don't think I'll be installing anything that makes me a cyborg unless it's for health reasons........call it a quirk. lol


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By Omega215D on 2/27/2008 3:19:38 PM , Rating: 3
It's only a subcutaneous wound... nah doesn't have that ring to it.

Starfleet data suggest Borg implants can cause skin irritation... perhaps you would like an analgesic cream?


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By ABorealis on 2/27/2008 8:41:35 PM , Rating: 3
Post operation will still require degauzzing.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By sgtdisturbed47 on 2/27/2008 1:53:09 PM , Rating: 2
I think I would have trouble trusting an electronic device that's hooked up to my frickin veins.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By DASQ on 2/27/2008 1:54:54 PM , Rating: 2
What, do you have some kind of predisposition to potential electrical shocks?


By VitalyTheUnknown on 2/27/2008 2:07:55 PM , Rating: 5
Yep. Sorry you got a virus, try to unplug display, reinstall drivers and eat a lot of Vitamin C.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By geddarkstorm on 2/27/2008 3:46:33 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder how weird it must feel when it unfurls, or how painful. Or if it might even block all the nervous system connections that have to pass through that area, thus leaving you without any ability to feel on that patch of skin, but that doesn't seem too likely. It would be easy to skrew up a person with one of those though--just grab the arm and twist and you could potentially rip the device free, and consequently the artery/vein. I would think they'd think of such safety concerns, but it's something to note.

What insane technology.. totally amazing. Wouldn't be surprised if they figured out how to use different pigments to give "color" pictures.


RE: That is the coolest thing....
By Aquila76 on 2/27/2008 7:47:01 PM , Rating: 2
The unfurling is a one time deal when the surgeon implants it. You should be unconscious or at least generally anesthetized when it happens.


By KillerNoodle on 2/27/2008 3:30:40 PM , Rating: 3
Not a SCIFI movie but the movie A Beautiful Mind included something under the skin. IRC A radioactive isotope that decays "predictably" showing access codes to a drop box. It was imaginary but still.


Fantastic!
By Spivonious on 2/27/2008 1:50:17 PM , Rating: 2
Where can I get one? Imagine controlling cell phones, surfing the web at internet cafes, texting someone, starting your car, writing down a shopping list, all by just touching your arm.




RE: Fantastic!
By Screwuhippie on 2/27/2008 2:42:02 PM , Rating: 5
Or ... finally an excuse for excessive touching of another body part!


RE: Fantastic!
By FITCamaro on 2/27/2008 2:53:11 PM , Rating: 2
You could use it as a remote. Your wife or the kids could never steal it from you.

Women could also get a news feed implanted in their breasts.

"I'm not staring. I'm catching up on the news."


RE: Fantastic!
By FITCamaro on 2/27/2008 3:04:25 PM , Rating: 2
I guess one problem with the remote idea is that your kids might start to get mad when you and your wife are having sex (insert joke about how married couples don't get to have sex here) and the TV keeps turning on and off or the channel keeps changing.

But on the flip side, it might make it wider. ;)


RE: Fantastic!
By AlphaVirus on 2/27/2008 5:51:50 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
But on the flip side, it might make it wider. ;)

LMAO!


see?
By johnsonx on 2/27/2008 1:58:19 PM , Rating: 2
John Nash wasn't crazy afterall!




RE: see?
By Hawkido on 2/27/2008 2:03:03 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, but now the government will be probing your open ports to spy on you!


RE: see?
By Hawkido on 2/27/2008 2:04:43 PM , Rating: 5
Come to think of it, the IRS has been doing that to us for a long time already!


RE: see?
By johnsonx on 3/5/2008 4:22:09 PM , Rating: 2
This is starting to upset me! I DEMAND to be modded up for my clever reference! It can't be over all of your heads can it?


The risk outweighs the benefits
By hoanganh on 2/27/2008 2:00:49 PM , Rating: 2
It's cool until it it gets infected and you go into septic shock and die. The body does not like foreign bodies implanted in it.




RE: The risk outweighs the benefits
By tmouse on 2/27/2008 2:29:45 PM , Rating: 3
There are many, many materials that do not illicit any immune response so that is not a problem. Could someone develop an infection after its insertion? Of course; there is a small probability of that happening in ANY procedure. No more embarrassing tattoos to explain later in life. ;) The down side would be the high probability of never having the ability to have a MRI; just speculation since I do not know what it is made of. Oh and if you put one in an embarrassing place the Air port screening could be interesting.


By Screwuhippie on 2/27/2008 2:40:45 PM , Rating: 2
At least the on-skin display will inform you of the infection that it-itself is causing!

hmmm


RE: The risk outweighs the benefits
By JonnyBlaze on 2/27/2008 6:02:49 PM , Rating: 2
Tell the millions of women that have implants that.


By murphyslabrat on 2/27/2008 9:56:20 PM , Rating: 2
I think you would have an even harder time convincing the men that know those women


Does it come with an antivirus sw?
By Janooo on 2/27/2008 2:09:40 PM , Rating: 2
What AV I am supposed install in my brain?




RE: Does it come with an antivirus sw?
By Vinnybcfc on 2/27/2008 2:17:43 PM , Rating: 5
Just not Norton if you want to avoid becoming bloated


By murphyslabrat on 2/27/2008 10:32:40 PM , Rating: 2
But, it would prevent multiple users.


hmmm
By DeepBlue1975 on 2/27/2008 2:54:05 PM , Rating: 2
Teachers would have a hard time telling when their pupils cheat if they ever start using things like this!

Otherwise, cool technology to display e-books and watch movies on the go, though one would look weird if he were to be staring at his forearm for a whole hour or even more :D




RE: hmmm
By m1ldslide1 on 2/27/2008 6:55:16 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah this would really change the nature of traditional academia. What's the use in making kids memorize facts and dates when they can simply access that information at any time from their bio-implant? It would be time to restructure traditional education entirely.


RE: hmmm
By DeepBlue1975 on 2/27/2008 7:53:02 PM , Rating: 2
How interesting is what you say, about changes in educational system...

That subject alone deserves at least an in depth article and subsequent discussion for itself.

I wonder why on DT there are so little articles talking about education related to technology, after all, if we get so many articles here talking about global contamination here, we could get some of those, too.

Education also changes a lot with technology advances, be it formal or informal education, and sometimes the changes aren't too close to what one would expect.

For example, everytime you introduce a new tech tool to the educational system, you get the risk of kids forgetting how the tool works and relying completely on it to do the job.
But for the always present minority, you also introduce the interest of further developing those tools.

Then, the knowledge patterns comparing less educated people to the more intellectually oriented ones ends up widening with time because those who are not interested in learning actually get less incentives from the outside world to learn.

Ups. I guess I've deviated quite a bit from the main subject here. :D


RE: hmmm
By murphyslabrat on 2/27/2008 10:34:04 PM , Rating: 2
Yep, because kiddos are going to have multi-million dollar implant-jobs.


This just in...
By 67STANG on 2/27/2008 4:00:08 PM , Rating: 2
Apple has secured the trademark iArm.

It's thinner and shinnier than any other arm on the market and comes with a built in kool-aid dispenser!




RE: This just in...
By JonnyDough on 2/27/2008 4:06:39 PM , Rating: 2
*Shinier. Again, we need an edit button. Sometimes we miss things in preview mode.


RE: This just in...
By DublinGunner on 2/27/2008 6:34:21 PM , Rating: 2
I think the term iBod has a better ring to it!!

(you heard it here first folks!)


RE: This just in...
By murphyslabrat on 2/27/2008 10:35:53 PM , Rating: 2
That'd be kind of racist, as only Caucasians would be able to get the operation. Though, some Asians might be white enough.


"Develops" <> "Envisons"
By routbort on 2/27/2008 2:03:55 PM , Rating: 2
From the cited web page:

"The tattoo display is still just a concept ..."

I have to say, I prefer my tech news to be just a tad closer to reality than someone's imagination. Not to say there's anything wrong with idea-storming, but calling this a "development" is a bit of a reach.




RE: "Develops" <> "Envisons"
By kattanna on 2/27/2008 2:11:07 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
At the recent Greener Gadgets Design Competition, the engineer demonstrated a subcutaneously implanted touch-screen that operates as a cell phone display, with the potential for 3G video calls that are visible just underneath the skin


thats from the top of the article itself


Another implant
By JonnyDough on 2/27/2008 3:59:50 PM , Rating: 2
to cause cancer? Just like silicon breast implants, perhaps in the not too distant future you'll find yourself subjected to frequent arm exams where you'll be groped uncomfortably by a doctor that weirds you out as you're checked for possibly forearm lumps. Then we'll be all be doting gray ribbons and bumper stickers for forearm cancer awareness.




RE: Another implant
By JonnyDough on 2/27/2008 5:58:08 PM , Rating: 2
*Possible. We need an edit button. Sometimes we miss things in preview mode.


RE: Another implant
By tmouse on 2/28/2008 7:51:15 AM , Rating: 2
Well the ONLY implants that have ever had an increase in cancer were the liquid silicon containing ones, which should have never been used in the first place. There are literally millions of medical implants in use today (pacemakers, pumps, stents ect), and while some problems are observed (ie wear, plaque buildup) there has been no correlation with any cancers. Whether it will be useful I'm not sure. I think subcutaneous implants will not be very visible and/or fuzzy. Sub-dermal or epidermal would be more visible but subject to more wear. A few widely spaced buttons could work but I think it would be hard to make a highly flexible, responsive touchable display that is clear and visible and also insensitive to movement, brushing, impacts and changes like weight gain/loss or muscle built-up. A real small patch for lets say glucose monitoring, blood pressure maybe hazard exposure which also has some form of simple design like a tattoo when not in use seems more reasonable to me than "TV on arm".


Wintertime
By corduroygt on 2/27/2008 3:03:56 PM , Rating: 5
1. Design wintercoats with see-through arms
2. ???
3. Profit!




Creepy
By OxBow on 2/27/2008 3:36:54 PM , Rating: 3
Maybe it's just that I'm old and never understood the whole tatoo craze but I think this is just creepy.

Granted, I see the use for a blood powered fuel cell to handle things like pacemakers and other implants, but to come up with such technology then focus on how it could be used in cell phones seems like a a sad waste.




RE: Creepy
By AlphaVirus on 2/27/2008 6:00:49 PM , Rating: 2
Well I dont think cell phone use is what they are trying to make the primary use of such a technology. I believe the demonstration having a "cell phone tatoo" is too show that it can apply a commonly used product as a tattoo on your skin.

I think this is a great technology and honestly I would get one if it ever hits the public market.

My only question would be, how much glucose and oxygen will it digest to be used on a normal basis?

Also how much oxygen would you loose until you pass out?

As far as the other poster who wondered about skin color. I would imagine they would build this to work in dark or dimly lit rooms where no matter what skin color you are, you can not see your arm.


One word...
By LukePoplin on 2/27/2008 2:02:14 PM , Rating: 2
iBody




RE: One word...
By BruceLeet on 2/27/2008 7:56:14 PM , Rating: 2
thats two words


No racism please.
By Misty Dingos on 2/27/2008 3:52:32 PM , Rating: 2
I can see this working really well for people that have light skin but not working well for darker skinned peoples.

Look at the typical person with dark skin. They universally use only black or very dark ink, while lighter skinned humans can use a variety of colors. This limit to it's functionality would hinder it's marketability.

If they can work around that I see enormous potential for a device like this.

I also see some folks screaming about the mark of the beast and end times.




RE: No racism please.
By DASQ on 2/27/2008 4:01:52 PM , Rating: 2
Well they could pull a Michael Jackson and just lighten that patch of their skin. It's really just a tattoo.


Never ever...
By FliGuyRyan on 2/28/2008 12:17:08 AM , Rating: 2
So would give my right arm so my left arm can act as my T.V. remote...

Wow... now that will be the day.




RE: Never ever...
By cokbun on 2/28/2008 10:37:09 AM , Rating: 2
oh what a genius ! and the waitresess at hooters should get one. and it displays the menus.


Want.
By DASQ on 2/27/2008 1:53:44 PM , Rating: 2
That is frickin' awesome.

Whip out my armPod, surf some Wifi.

Though I assume you'd probably want to shave the hair off your arm to improve readability.




minor typo
By derwin on 2/27/2008 1:56:46 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
One unfurled, the display ...


probably should read "Once unfurled, the display..."




I can hear the complainers now
By jon1003 on 2/27/2008 1:56:57 PM , Rating: 2
"But it doesn't come with a big enough screen..."

Better bulk up buddy :p




By xti on 2/27/2008 2:47:00 PM , Rating: 2
imagine how many math formulas you could write on this thing...and the teacher comes and POOF...gone!




Vanishing tats!
By kyleb2112 on 2/27/2008 5:20:08 PM , Rating: 2
Soon we can erase those hideous tail bone tattoos Etch-A-Sketch style. Various techniques spring to mind.




So ummm...
By Raidin on 2/27/2008 5:46:01 PM , Rating: 2
...does this mean the display's brightness control is your heart rate? Will people stop giving blood to keep their contrast setting high?

Oh, and can you overclock it with cardio workouts?




Quick!
By zinfamous on 2/28/2008 11:04:19 AM , Rating: 2
Someone tell Sarah Conner!!




lets all get implants
By tastyratz on 2/27/08, Rating: 0
"When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." -- Sony BMG attorney Jennifer Pariser











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