Nokia has gone and sent the rumour mill-a-millin with its latest patent application, this time for what looks to be a device that will sit directly on our skin. The patent refers to a haptic material, which is much like the kick-back vibration you get after touching some touchscreen smartphones. This material would provide a notification system that communicates with your phone and the apparatus.
Or more specifically; “An apparatus comprising: a material attachable to skin, the material capable of detecting a magnetic field and transferring a perceivable stimulus to the skin, wherein the perceivable stimulus relates to the magnetic field.” – creepy!
The patent application makes reference to an “invisible tattoo, visible tattoo” and speculation is that the notification device could be “drawn” or “painted” directly onto the skin. Given this information we can deduce that the device would pair with your mobile device, much like bluetooth, and vibrate based on the notification you receive from your mobile e.g. long buzz for a call and short bursts for a text message.
This is all getting a bit Matrix, but bear with us it gets better. As reported by unwiredview.com, the “material” could be applied much like a normal tattoo, but using a different ferromagnetic ink – magnetic as it would need to be able to detect different magnetic signals from your mobile device.
This sounds like a very permanent and intrusive way to not disturb a company meeting when your phone vibrates, plus it is just about the longest contract Nokia could have ever thought to apply!
What do you think? Would you have a notification system “tattooed” onto your skin for your mobile device? Let us know in the comments and we will of course keep you updated with any further news on this odd patent application.
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