Electronic tattoos and password pills: Motorola working on the future

Let’s talk about wearables. We’ve seen people talk about the upcoming Google Glass and the ever-elusive iWatch. Apple CEO Tim Cook even went on to

Nishtha Kanal|May 30, 2013, 09:42:20 IST

We’ve seen people talk about the upcoming Google Glass and the ever-elusive iWatch. Apple CEO Tim Cook even went on to say that the wrist is where the future lies. Motorola begs to differ. Say hello to electronic tattoos and passwords you can swallow.

Speaking at the D11 Conference by All Things Digital, Regina Dugan, SVP for advanced technology and projects for Motorola showed off what exactly the now Google-owned company thinks the future of wearable computers is. She showed off a prototype electronic tattoo on her own arm at the conference. “Teenagers might not want to wear a watch, but you can be sure they'll wear a tattoo just to piss of their parents,” she said.

Who thought skin art could be this cool? (Image Credit: The Verge)

If you’re already thinking about an electronic tattoo and going “Whoa, dude!” wait till you read what it can do. A normal tattoo would probably be an identification mark to most people. If you have a tattoo, chances are, your friends and family will be able to identify you based on that skin art alone. The electronic tattoo showed off by Dugan can authenticate a user, replacing the need for passwords.

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The skin patch is being made by a company called MC10 that Motorola is partnering with.

Besides the tattoo, Motorola is working on another prototype, a slightly more serious option than a skin patch – Vitamin authentication. Here’s a pill that can eliminate the need of passwords. Dugan showed off a pill that can be ingested. The pill developed by Proteus Digital Health is powered by the acid in your stomach. Once inside your body it creates 18-bit signals turning your entire body into a password. Creepy, huh?

Don’t wait on this technology to be available to you soon, though. “This isn’t stuff that is going to ship anytime soon. But it is a sign of the new boldness inside Motorola,” explained Dennis Woodside, head of Motorola. The bottomline is that this technology is that it is all going to be optional. Google won’t be force feeding you these pills like this is some kind of a twisted, science-fiction movie.

By Nishtha Kanal

Intrigued by all things social, Nishtha will invariably tweet about you. When not tweeting or writing about the next viral video, you will hear her proclaiming her love to Metallica, James Hetfield, Opeth, Akerfeldt and all bands that go 'growl'. She also obsesses about ACP Pradyuman and South Park and you will always find her moving around with a book. Her focus is on all the happening stuff in the tech domain, and she won't hesitate to take a shot at some of the oddball devices that make their way to our labs.