Welcome to Gaia! ::

Short article, but kinda fascinating. Your thoughts?

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/20/led-tattoos/

Here's another article, with cool videos.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/the-illustrated-man-how-led-tattoos-could-change-the-face-of-humanity/

I think it sounds really interesting, but I'd be intrigued as to how exactly such an invention would be done via tattooing, or whether it would be more or less an implant; in my opinon it sounds like it would/could be the latter.

I see how it could be done with a gun, but from what it sounds like, you could also implant an animation just beneath the surface of the skin on a sheet of this silk substrate, as opposed to just having a tattoo vanish and reappear. That's freakin' awesome!

What I am a little sceptical about, is how long they would last for, and how exactly you would 'charge' the tattoo if every tiny chip was electronic. Think of a set of christmas tree lights. If one goes out, it sort of ruins the overall appearance. As every single chip is electronic, there's a chance that they will go out, be faulty or similar. What then?

As much as having a flashy, animated tattoo sounds cool, I'd be a little irritated if half of my dragon didn't even show up at all. When we buy anything electrical, we take into a consideration that there is still a chance that the item will be faulty. With the purchase of an LED tattoo, multiply that chance by how many hundreds of chips will be implanted beneath the surface of your skin.
Would that really be worth the money if it was going to pack in, perhaps even in a matter of days? There would need to be real proof that these chips were robust enough to last a lifetime, and to be honest, there's not a single electrical appliance currently existing that comes with such a guarantee. Personally, I think good old ink would be not only cheaper, but way more reliable.


That being said, it is still only really at the idea stages, so I'd be interested to see if it actually went anywhere. I'm sceptical, though. However, in a way, it does sound to tattooing like microdermals are to piercing, if that makes sense at all.