14 DAY TRIAL // The wearables business is growing at a really fast pace, and more companies seem to be interested in this side of the industry, but while the majority are focusing on the traditional products, such as smartwatches, Microsoft wants to go way beyond this threshold.
MIT and Microsoft Research engineers have created a smart tattoo that makes it possible to interact with surrounding gadgets, including smartphones, thus becoming one of the most comfortable wearables you’ve ever seen.
Called DuoSkin, the technology is supposed to attach to your skin just like a regular tattoo but come with a small touch input surface that allows the wearer to perform a series of tasks, such as controlling a smartphone or even transferring data through NFC, which itself opens the door to easy and secure payments.
It matches your style
And what’s more, the tattoo can also change colors and have different designs, thus fitting every choice of users around the world. Thanks to sensors that can be directly built into its circuits, the tattoo can perform activities such as unlocking doors or can even play the role of a trackpad that enables you to control other external accessories.
“DuoSkin is a fabrication process that enables anyone to create customized functional devices that can be attached directly on their skin. Using gold metal leaf, a material that is cheap, skin-friendly, and robust for everyday wear, we demonstrate three types of on-skin interfaces: sensing touch input, displaying output, and wireless communication,” Microsoft explains.
“DuoSkin draws from the aesthetics found in metallic jewelry-like temporary tattoos to create on-skin devices which resemble jewelry. DuoSkin devices enable users to control their mobile devices, display information, and store information on their skin while serving as a statement of personal style.”
For the moment, however, this technology is still in development, so don’t expect it to reach mass production anytime soon. But with Microsoft and MIT researchers working hard to push the boundaries of the wearable industry way beyond the wrist, it shouldn't take too long before on-skin electronics become more widely adopted.
