Forget smartphones and watches. DuoSkin, a new product from Microsoft and the MIT Media Lab, can turn your epidermis into a touch pad. Or a remote. Made with naturally conductive gold leaf, DuoSkin places a technological interface directly on your body. One potential application would include a Bluetooth-like chip so wearers could sync their temporary tattoo to a music system, then swipe it to change volume. Another version changes colors. The process is designed so people can customize both form and function for a tattoo that lasts only a day. The goal, says lead researcher Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, is to create technology that’s as personal as lotion or makeup, so “it really blends into the wearer’s identity.”
–Julia Zorthian
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- The Revolution of Yulia Navalnaya
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Stop Looking for Your Forever Home
- If You're Dating Right Now , You're Brave: Column
- The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
- Fallout Is a Brilliant Model for the Future of Video Game Adaptations
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com