Your next tattoo could very well be more than just skin deep. A new app called Skin Motion is bringing tattoos to life through a scanning process and inked sound waves.
Nate Siggard, the founder of Skin Motion, has developed technology that functions pretty similarly to QR and bar codes, only the scanner reads sound waves. So far, two noise-generating tattoos have been added permanently to two individuals' bodies: the sound of a baby's laughter and a specific dog bark. In order to do this, each subject submitted the sound they felt precious enough to have on their bodies for all eternity. The sound was then converted to a visual sound wave, which was then tattooed by a professionally trained artist. Once healed, the individual can open the Skin Motion app and use the scanner to play the sound back. Pretty neat!
It should be stressed that the actual tattoo does not generate its own noise and only works when scanned in the app. Technology hasn't advanced far enough to plant sound-emanating chips within the thin layers of epidermis that can be played by a touch, poke, flick, scratch, or caress.
Tattoos can either be just of the sound wave, like the baby one, or customized, like the dog one which sees the sound wave living in the center of the dog's portrait. Currently, artists who applied for training are being chosen across the world in countries ranging from the U.S. and Chile to Australia and Sound Africa. You can apply for the waitlist here. Soon, the skin will be alive with the sound of tattoos.
