Greener Gadgets

One of the more notable (and creepy) entries at the Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2008 was the Digital Tattoo Interface. Conceptualized by Jim Mielke, the device is basically an implanted, bio-powered mobile phone. Imagine hearing a ring and rather than reaching for your pocket you roll up your sleeve and press a dot on your forearm. A two by four inch tattoo of a phone's digital display materializes on your skin along with a keypad. The display animates as a digital video of the caller and then disappears when the call is over.

In Mielke's mind the Bluetooth device would be permanently implanted beneath the skin. It is basically a flat, flexible silicon and silicone pad that would be tightly rolled and inserted through a small incision. Once inside it would unroll and lie harmlessly between the muscle and the skin. Two tubes would then