This device contains a RFID chip and will be able to transfer information wirelessly to various networks. To get people interested and excited by the electronic skin tattoo, news articles describe its usefulness in health monitoring and…um…video games. What is however not advertised is how easily this device could be used to track, spy and monitor people.
A hair-thin electronic patch that adheres to the skin like a temporary tattoo could transform medical sensing, computer gaming and even spy operations, according to a US study published Thursday.
The micro-electronics technology, called an epidermal electronic system (EES), was developed by an international team of researchers from the United States, China and Singapore, and is described in the journal Science.
"It's a technology that blurs the distinction between electronics and biology," said co-author John Rogers, a professor in materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"Our goal was to develop an electronic technology that could integrate with the skin in a way that is mechanically and physiologically invisible to the user."
The patch could be used instead of bulky electrodes to monitor brain, heart and muscle tissue activity and when placed on the throat it allowed users to operate a voice-activated video game with better than 90 percent accuracy.
"This type of device might provide utility for those who suffer from certain diseases of the larynx," said Rogers. "It could also form the basis of a sub-vocal communication capability, suitable for covert or other uses."
The wireless device is nearly weightless and requires so little power it can fuel itself with miniature solar collectors or by picking up stray or transmitted electromagnetic radiation, the study said.
Less than 50-microns thick -- slightly thinner than a human hair -- the devices are able to adhere to the skin without glue or sticky material.
"Forces called van der Waals interactions dominate the adhesion at the molecular level, so the electronic tattoos adhere to the skin without any glues and stay in place for hours," said the study.
Northwestern University engineer Yonggang Huang said the patch was "as soft as the human skin."
By Breitbart.com
'Electronic Skin' Grafts Gadgets to Body
He may have had a laser in his watch and a radio in his lighter, but even James Bond didn't sport gadgets tattooed to his skin. Now he could, thanks to the development of ultrathin electronics that can be placed on the skin as easily as a temporary tattoo. The researchers hope the new devices will pave the way for sensors that monitor heart and brain activity without bulky equipment, or perhaps computers that operate via the subtlest voice commands or body movement.
Stretchy and bendy electronics have been around for a few years. One approach is to write circuits onto materials that are already flexible, such as ink on paper, so gadgets can be folded and put away. Another is to make the circuits themselves flexible. In 2008, for example, engineers at the University of Tokyo created a conductive material that looked a bit like a fishnet stocking. Made of carbon nanotubes and rubber, it could stretch by more than a third of its natural length, possibly enough to make robots become more agile.
The problem with these past attempts, says materials scientist John Rogers of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, is that none of them has been as stretchy and as bendy as human skin. That's a shame, because scientists have had grand visions for integrating the skin with electronics, from medical sensors to music players or cell phones that you can literally wear on your arm.
Rub on, peel off. So-called epidermal electronics is as simple to apply, and remove, as a temporary tattoo.
Now, Rogers and his colleagues at Urbana-Champaign and other institutions in the United States, Singapore, and China have come up with a form of electronics that almost precisely matches skin's mechanical properties. Known as epidermal electronics, they can be applied in a similar way to a temporary tattoo: you simply place it on your skin and rub it on with water (see video). The devices can even be hidden under actual temporary tattoos to keep the electronics concealed.
"The skin represents one of the most natural places to integrate electronics," says Rogers, whose group's paper appears online today in Science. "As the largest organ in our body, and our primary sensory mode of interaction with the world, it plays a special role."
The new technology is the product of advances in several areas. One is in the active circuit components—transistors, diodes, and other inherently stiff semiconductors—which Rogers's group has flattened and shrunk to the size of the tiniest bumps and wrinkles on the skin. Another is in the material on which these components are arranged: a sheet of rubbery "elastomer" that mimics the mass, thickness, and elasticity of the skin. Like an extra-clingy plastic wrap, the elastomer sticks to the skin naturally, using only the weak, short-range, attractive forces that always exist between neighboring molecules for adhesion. It can stay attached for over 24 hours almost anywhere on the body.
The third important ingredient is the circuit's arrangement. Place the components and wires too close and they will stiffen the device, making it liable to tear. So Rogers's group uses a computer program to predict all the stresses and strains that arise with different designs and then picks the one that keeps elasticity at a maximum.
In one experiment, the group applied a device the size of a postage stamp to a person's chest to pick up the electrical signals produced by the heart. The measurements agreed "remarkably well" with those produced by a hospital electrocardiogram, the researchers say, without relying on potentially uncomfortable gels or tape. In another experiment, the group applied a device containing a microphone to a person's throat and fed the signal to a computer. The computer could recognize four different words: "up," "down," "left," and "right." This technology could eventually help people with some disabilities control computers, the researchers say.
Physicist Siegfried Bauer of Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, agrees that epidermal electronics have important medical applications. However, he notes that the technology needs to be tested with a range of skin conditions, from dry to sweaty. "Circuits must allow for transpiration and breathing," he says.
Rogers and his colleagues have separately demonstrated that they can add other useful features to epidermal electronics. Solar cells could one day power the devices without an external source; meanwhile, signals recorded by the devices could be transmitted to a base station wirelessly with antennas. In the long term, Rogers believes the technology could provide an electronic link to the body's most subtle processes, including the movement of enzymes and antibodies, to track the path of disease. "Ultimately, we think that [our] efforts can blur the distinction between electronics and biology," he says.
By Jon Cartwright
Rfid Tattoo Mark
"The process developed by Somark involves a geometric array of micro-needles and an ink capsule, which is used to ‘tattoo’ an animal. The ink can be detected from 4 feet away.by K.C. Jones, InformationWeek
...Somark Innovations announced this week that it successfully tested biocompatible RFID ink, which can be read through animal hairs....
Chief scientist Ramos Mays said the tests provide a true proof-of-principle and mitigate most of the technological risks in terms of the product’s performance. “This proves the ability to create a synthetic biometric or fake fingerprint with biocompatible, chipless RFID ink and read it through hair,” he said.
Co-founder Mark Pydynowski said during an interview Wednesday that the ink doesn’t contain any metals and can be either invisible or colored. He declined to say what is in the ink, but said he’s certain that it is 100% biocompatible and chemically inert. He also said it is safe for people and animals.
The process developed by Somark involves a geometric array of micro-needles and a reusable applicator with a one-time-use ink capsule. Pydynowski said it takes five to 10 seconds to “stamp or tattoo” an animal, and there is no need to remove the fur. The ink remains in the dermal layer, and a reader can detect it from 4 feet away.
“Conceptually, you can think of it in the same way that visible light is reflected by mirrors,” he said, adding that the actual process is slightly different and proprietary.
The amount of information contained in the ink depends on the surface area available, he said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls for a 15-digit number to track cattle. The first three digits are “840″ for the U.S. country code. The remaining digits are unique identifiers. The numbers would link to a database containing more information.
“It can say where it has been, who it has talked to, who it has eaten with, and who else it has been in contact with,” Pydynowski said.
...The ink also could be used to track and rescue soldiers, Pydynowski said.
“It could help identify friends or foes, prevent friendly fire, and help save soldiers’ lives,” he said. “It’s a very scary proposition when you’re dealing with humans, but with military personnel, we’re talking about saving soldiers’ lives and it may be something worthwhile.”
RFID tattoos for tracking cows... and people
Founders of SOMARK Innovations Inc. , Mark Pydynowski, left, and Ramos Mays, right, with their electronic ink tattoo device at their office in San Diego. (Designed for animal tracking, but are we next?)
Did you know that Somark Innovations successfully tested an "RFID tattoo" on cows and rats? Yes indeed, tattoo, not the ol' RFID chip found in passports, dogs, and Dutch VIP clubbers. The San Diego-based life sciences technology company offers innovative identification solutions for researchers ranging from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to breeders, CROs and research labs. Somark’s Labstamp System is the first automated system to apply tail tattoos for mouse identification.
Somark's system uses an array of needles to inject a passive RFID ink which can be read through the hair on your choice of beast. The ink can be either invisible or colored but Somark is keeping mum as to its exact contents. They only say that it doesn't contain any metals and is 100% biocompatible and chemically inert. The tattoo can be applied in 5 to 10 seconds with no shaving involved and can be read from up to 4 feet away -- the bigger the tattoo, the more information stored. Best of it all, it's apparently safe for humans to ingest allowing the FDA to track back Mad Cow Disease, e-coli outbreaks, and Soylent Green. Don't worry, they can't track you just as long as you chew your food like mama taught. However, with "military personnel" listed as Somark's "secondary target market," well, it's just a matter of time before we're all cattle now isn't it.
