FORBESWOMAN

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3/21/2012 @ 11:42AM |3,509 views www.forbes.com

Nokia's Buzzy New Patent: A Tattoo That Vibrates When Your Phone Rings

Photo: U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

Nokia hopes to jolt the personal electronics and tattoo industries simultaneously with a new patent for a haptic tattoo that transmits “a perceivable impulse” through a person’s skin when he or she gets a phone call, text message or email alert.

As first uncovered by Vlad Bobleanta at UnWiredView last week and reported in TheOrlando Sentinel yesterday, the Nokia patent will work something like this. It suggests using a ferromagnetic ink, which includes compounds like iron or iron oxide, for the tattoo. Heat the ink to a high temperature before applying to the user’s skin to temporarily demagnetize it. Otherwise, ouch. Afterwards, remagnetize the tattoo simply by “repeatedly running a magnet over tattooed spot.”

Now think Bluetooth and how it syncs with our phones.

The phone would communicate with the tattoo through magnetic waves. The phone would emit magnetic waves and the tattoo would act as a receiver. When the waves hit the tattoo, it would set off a tactile response in the user’s skin.

It can even warn you when your phone’s battery is about to die, according toThe Daily News.

The patent gets even more creative, suggesting customization options similar to how people assign a variety of ring tones for different contacts and whether the incoming signal is a call, text or alert. You could set, for example, flutter for your boyfriend or a “mighty itch” as the Sentinel says, for your teen.

I can see this being handy and a safety plus for the hearing impaired, including my mother, who have difficulty catching the ring of their cell phone no matter how high the volume. Cyborg anthropologist Amber Case and founder ofGeoloqi.com, adds perspective on the cons and beyonds of technology inside the body:

CONS:

Compared to a human, tech has too short of a timeline. It is for this reason that I don’t favor tech that is embedded under the skin or permanently attached to the body. If I have to go to the tattoo parlor every time I need to upgrade my phone/tattoo connection, then it’s not useful to me, and it presents a significant liability.

Technology stored outside of the body has a real purpose. External technologies are easy to get rid of when they no longer work. External tech can be upgraded or traded in. In the case of a phone, it’s very easy to put the phone in another room if you don’t want to be buzzed. If the ringer is attached to your body, like in the case of this tattoo, you can never get away. In order to “opt out”, you have consciously set phone and the ringer tattoo to the “off” button, versus. just move an external phone away. Also, if tech gets more and more embedded, the risk of hacking into that tech, tech malfunctions and other problems appear. It’s a big issue, and not something worthy of a tattoo.

I imagine that a hacker would have an excellent time hacking into a bunch of these tattoos to make them constantly ring and buzz in a recursive loop. And where would the user go? Back to the tattoo shop? What if they’re on an important trip? What if they can’t go to sleep at night because of the constant notifications? And then, what does it mean when the tech malfunctions? Right now, tech lasts only a few years before it wears out. Having to “upgrade” your tattoo every year would be costly, and those without access to the right amount of capital would not be able to go through the procedure. Keep the tattoo too long on the same version number could cause it to break down and malfunction.

EVEN BETTER THAN A PHONE…

The equation is different for health tech and lifesaving tech. I’d be very interested in a tattoo that monitors by blood sugar levels or other physiological factors and warns me when my blood sugar is getting too low or if I’m getting too stressed out. That’s something that is a useful notification. An insulin pump is another important kind of implant. Getting notified of a phone call is not. There are already perfectly reasonable and workable methods for that. I’d like to be notified by a buzzable tattoo if my grandfather was having a heart attack and needed help, or if the carbon monoxide levels in my house were too high, or if I were falling asleep at the wheel while driving. All of those things are a heck of a lot more valuable and a heck of a lot more interesting than a tattoo that tells you when you’ve received a call.

For those not interested going full-robot, there is a sticker version, or a magnetic receiver worn on the skin, to sub for the vibrating tattoo.