Electronic tattoos capable of fitness tracking and making payments are being pitched as the next big thing in wearable technology by creative design agency Chaotic Moon.
Dubbed Tech Tats, the technology consists of skin-mounted components and conductive paint to create circuitry that sits on the user's skin and has the capability to collect, store, send and receive data.
The so-called biowearable is considered a less intrusive measure, and more aesthetically pleasing, than the chip implants favoured by out-there biohackers.
"You’re eliminating clunky, expensive devices with a low-interference, low-cost, and low-hassle alternative, and using the user’s skin as the interface," says the agency. "It’s technology that is, in a sense, part of the user. The result? Total integration."
Chaotic Moon is pitching the concept initially as a boon to the medical profession, replacing regular physical fitness checks with a temporary Tech Tat that monitors your vital signs and sends the data to your doctor.
Payments is another potential application under consideration. Chaotic Moon's creative technology director Eric Schneider explains: “We carry wallets around and they’re so vulnerable. With a tech tattoo, you could carry all your information on your skin and when you want your credit card information or your ID, you can pull that up automatically."
A tap or gesture could transfer the data to a point-of-sale device or mobile phone to perform the transaction, he says.