Thursday, December 4, 2014

Issue 476 Smart Tattoos! December 4, 2014

Now we have an even cooler tattoo that many people may wish to get in the future.  It is called a smart tattoo.  And it is literally a computer chip implanted into your skin.  So let us discuss how it works and what it can do for us.

How it works:  Scientists have developed a method for literally injecting microchips into the outer layer of skin in the same way you would if you inject ink to get a tattoo. These tattoos can either be permanently placed, or made to be temporary. In fact, they can be applied internally to organs, and even clothing depending on what they will be used for (this aspect is still in development).  The chips can actively monitor someone, or hold data for when the owner wishes to activate it.  The uses of this technology are very wide and may become common place in the future.  So let’s discuss what they will do.

Their uses:

1) They can monitor your vital signs in real time.  This means people who need to wear heart monitors or other monitoring equipment can now go about their day as normal without the bulk.  Diabetes patients can have their blood sugar tested without the need to prick their finger ever again.  Athletes can do real world testing during actual practice instead of being tied to monitors in a lab to measure their performance.  You can even place these tattoos on an organ inside the body so as to monitor it for say a transplant rejection, or just overall health like your heart.  Blood oxidation, and blood hydration are also able to be monitored.  Literally, we can monitor our own health in the same way a doctor can without any stress or effort to have to travel to the laboratory and hook up bulky machines.

2) Google with Motorola is attempting to patent a smart tattoo that will be applied to the vocal cords.  This will allow it to pick up your voice at all levels of frequency so as to provide you with the ability to control your cell phone verbally without opening your mouth.  (It apparently can even detect if you are lying.)

3) It can be used as your credit card and debit card to pay at the store.  Additionally, it can act as a smart ID and can even unlock your car.  You are literally becoming the bionic man/woman.  And even more interesting is that if you apply one to your brain, it can allow you to control electronic devices such as doors, your heating and lighting, and other electronic equipment like your computer.  So you can surf the web by thought alone.


Conclusion:  These are not all the possibilities, but you get the general idea.  The only concern though is that every human being on the planet can be identified.  This means that big brother can be watching our every move and we could do nothing about it.  However, these advantages (especially for temporary versions) can change society as a whole.  I look forward to seeing what else they do with this technology and how society changes with it.

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