Is that your tattoo ringing? Nokia patents 'haptic tattoo'

Is that your tattoo ringing?

 

Tattoos may soon notify you of an incoming call or text message, according to a patent application from Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia.

 

Nokia's application for a "haptic tattoo" technology potentially allows people to use special ink to create a tattoo that would react when a text or call is coming, according to tech site TG Daily.

 

"Among the different sensations detailed in the patent are the ability for the tattoo to give users one short pulse or a series of pulses. So you could set it to receive a jolt when you get a text message, or a continuous string of jolts if a phone call comes in," it said.

 

A haptic tattoo is expected to give feedback similar to a touch-screen phone when one touches a button or command.

 

TG Daily said Nokia's patent is for a material that is "capable of detecting a magnetic field and transferring a perceivable stimulus to the skin, wherein the perceivable stimulus relates to the magnetic field."

 

While Nokia mentioned the forearm as a place where the tattoo could be placed, TG Daily said the tattoo can be presumed to work on any part of the skin.

 

"(W)ho knows? Some day Nokia might apply for a patent where you get mobile chips implanted into your body so you don't even have to pick up a phone to call someone," TG Daily added. — TJD, GMA News