Motorola shows off electronic tattoo and stomach acid-powered smart pill

Motorola’s head of special projects Regina Dugan has shown off a couple of tech-infused body enhancements that’ll make Google Glass users feel like they’re wearing knock-off X-Ray specs.

Previously head of DARPA – the organisation that birthed terrifying contraptions like the stair walking robot and robotic cheetah – Dugan is no stranger to sampling the bleeding edge of tech. Which is probably why she was happy to show off her electronic tattoo at the D11 conference in California.

The tattoo itself is a flexible electronic circuit which sticks to the skin like a temporary tattoo. Created by MC10 with the purpose of monitoring your health, it can also be used to authenticate users instead of a less-secure password.

Even crazier is Proteus’ ‘vitamin authentication’ pill – a battery-powered digestible pill which is powered by your stomach acid and can produce an 18-bit internal body signal, turning you into a walking password. These pills can also pack in sensors to monitor your health before relaying the information to your smartphone. Take that, activity-tracking wristbands.

Obviously it’ll be a long way to go until you’re slathered in electronic tattoos while knocking back bottles of iVitamins, but the future looks bright for wearable (and edible) tech.

[via AllThingsD]

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Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.