Motorola launched a stick-on “tattoo” that will unlock a Moto X.
The company used Vivalink’s eSkin technology embedded in a small circular adhesive that sticks on the skin for five days through showering, exercise and other activities. The clear sticker shows off a shiny swirl of flexible electronics that leverage the phone’s NFC to unlock without a password when the user taps their Moto X against the tattoo.
The Digital Tattoo comes after last year’s launch of Skip, a clip-on wearable that works essentially the same. The Digital Tattoo uses the same Skip set-up app to confirm the device’s PIN. Skip came with small stickers that could be strategically placed for quick device unlocking and presumably, a tattoo could be stuck on surfaces other than the skin.
Vivalink is selling Digital Tattoos in packs of ten of $10. It’s only available in the U.S.
For now the Digital Tattoo only works with the Moto X but Vivalink is taking suggestions on future smartphone models the product should be compatible with.
This could be just the first foray into tattoo-based mobile technology for Motorola. The company last year patented a microphone that is tattooed onto a user’s throat and paired with a smartphone via NFC or Bluetooth.