Programmable Tattoos

Tattoos are cool, but for many there's that hungover realization that getting snoopy etched onto your ass was not the most intelligent move possible. If nanotechnoligists have their way though, instead of looking up a laser removal clinic, you could just reprogram it. I'm sure many will still opt for the old school way of injecting ink under the skin, but this kind of tech is cool, not only because you can change the branding on your skin, but also because it could be used for a display, like in the concept photo to the right. The concept? Millions of robots the size of dust motes moving under your skin.

The dermal display, still a theoretical idea based on fact, is being worked on by Robert A. Freitas, Jr., a senior research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing in Palo Alto, Calif.

The display would consist of billions of light-emitting robots implanted under the skin and capable of rearranging themselves to spell out words and numbers and produce animations.

They would display data received from other nanobots in the body designed to monitor a person's vital signs. Instructions from the patient could be communicated by touch-screen-like finger taps on the skin.

No speculation on when this could become a reality, but here's hoping it's soon.

[ Link via Cliff. Thanks Cliff! ]