If you read our post the other day about the MYO armband you saw a piece of consumer tech that would allow you to control just about anything – in this case an aerial drone – with the movements of your arm. We here at LuckyRobot also proudly proclaimed that we bought one on the spot to try it out. Well it now looks like we may have just invested in the wireless control equivalent of Betamax. Behold, the picture above show a temporary tattoo that would enable control of electronic interfaces with nothing more than a thought. Telepathy has just been invented.
Electrical engineer Todd Coleman at the University of California at San Diego is the man behind this invention. He and his team have created a simple circuit that can detect electrical signals linked with brain waves, and incorporate solar cells for power and antennas that allow them to communicate wirelessly or receive energy. Other elements can be added as well, like thermal sensors to monitor skin temperature and light detectors to analyze blood oxygen levels. The device itself is less than 100 microns thick, the average diameter of a human hair. It consists of circuitry embedded in a layer or rubbery polyester that allow it to stretch, bend and wrinkle. It is barely visible when placed on skin, making concealment a simple matter.
Using the electronic tattoos, Coleman and his colleagues have found they can detect brain signals reflective of mental states, such as recognition, as well as the faint electrical impulses from muscle contractions. These devices can be put on parts of the body, the throat for example, to detect to detect what words you are about to say. When people think about talking, their throat muscles move even if they do not speak, a phenomenon known as subvocalization. Electronic tattoos placed on the throat could therefore behave as subvocal microphones through which people could communicate silently and wirelessly.
This breakthrough is not just restricted to the university lab either. The devices are now being commercialized for use as consumer, digital health, medical device, and industrial and defense products by startup MC10 in Cambridge, Mass. Looks like the MYO armband, and every other gesture control device, just got upstaged.