With Project Underskin, technology design agency NewDealDesign has conceptualized a small digital tattoo implant that could exchange data, unlock doors, and check medical levels all with a simple flick of the wrist, handshake, high five, or other programmable hand sign. Taking technology one step beyond wristwear, NewDeal imagines that their subcutaneous concept could be customizable, and able to contextualize users' movements by adaptively learning gestures and signals. Experience designer Jaeha Yoo hypothesized to Fast Co.Design, “Obviously tattoos, piercings—people are implanting birth control. This stuff is going on now. It’s not a huge step forward to implant something like Underskin."
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In the face of those who may suggest that a dermal RFID implant is too radical an idea, Project Underskin wouldn't just be functional, it would look beautiful, too. NewDeal's keen attention to detail makes their concept look like it would make the transition from human to cybernetic super-human that much more aesthetically pleasing. The device would be powered off the electro-chemical energy generated by the body, eliminating the need for cords, chargers, or any other distracting hardware. As far as privacy goes, NewDeal states that the Project Underskin device would be individualized much like a thumbprint, and come equipped with the ability to display private data, like health and payment information, on the inside of the hand. Talk about keeping your cards close.
Although Project Underskin currently only exists as a series of concept images, a device like this could not only bring new vocabulary to body language, but change the ways in which we manually interact with the world. Think it sounds like science fiction? NewDeal estimates that a technology like this could be possible for production within the next five years.
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