Dattoos: The ultimate wearable computer

One of the mainstays of the whole Singularity movement is the idea that at some point human kind will merge with computers for some sort of new synthesis and while this admittedly futuristic idea from Frog Design might seem a little outrageous it probably one be one step towards the ideal Singularity.

The interesting thing is that Frog Design‘s founder Martmut Esslinger first conceived of his technology that would see us able to print out customized electronic processing units onto our skin some 5 years ago. Called Dattoos, or DNA Tattoos, they would include input and output tools along the lines of a camera, microphone – it would be up to the user who would also be able to select the look.

Conceived for the 2005 Forrester Consumer Forum, the Dattoo was a response to the still-increasing trend of self-expression through connectivity technology – in a sense, you could call it the ultimate smart phone skin. The idea was to “realize a state of constant, seamless connectivity and computability requir[ing] the convergence of technology and self.” This meant that the body itself would need to become the interface, and would supply the required energy. Because Dattoos would largely replace three-dimensional tools such as smart phones or laptops, the environment would be spared the costs of producing, transporting and disposing of those items.

Source:GizMag

The interesting part of this as well is that Dattoos would be totally temporary – as in able to be washed off – and applied to clothing as well as our skin. Literally you would be able to change your wearable computer interface to whatever you wanted and while this is only a concept at this point there is no doubt that at some point we could very well see something similar.