Innovation of the week
Motorola Mobility has filed a patent application for an electronic tattoo.
Google’s innovative spirit appears to have spread to its Motorola Mobility subsidiary, which has filed a patent application titled “Coupling an Electronic Skin Tattoo to a Mobile Communication Device.” Essentially, it’s a Bluetooth headset “designed to be tattooed onto your throat,” said Steve Dent in Engadget.com. Instead of being housed in a phone, the electronic tattoo’s microphone and transceiver capture vibrations directly from your larynx, freeing up your hands and theoretically lending your calls greater clarity. It’s worth noting, however, that Motorola has a reputation for playing “fast and loose” with the definition of a tattoo, said Chris Velazco in TechCrunch.com. An earlier “electronic tattoo” from 2011 turned out to be a “thin, pliable device that adheres to a user’s skin that could be replaced on a weekly basis.” So perhaps there’s no need to freak out just yet.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Eel-egal trade: the world’s most lucrative wildlife crime?Under the Radar Trafficking of juvenile ‘glass’ eels from Europe to Asia generates up to €3bn a year but the species is on the brink of extinction
-
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.