If you've ever wanted a tattoo but haven't because, maybe, your parents or some other loved one might freak out when they saw it, this app might be for you. But get ready for how it works:
Artist Anthony Antonellis implanted an RFID chip about the size of a grain of rice in his hand, between his thumb and index finger. The chip stores up to 1 KB of data and is equipped with a teensy antenna. When you hold a mobile device with a special app over the chip, a JPEG of a pre-loaded image is displayed on the screen. Or the file could be a GIF or even a music file that plays on the device.
Pretty far out.
Using a smartphone or other mobile device, Antonellis can upload new files and swap out old ones. The first "tattoo" he uploaded was a brightly colored animated GIF. Being an artist, it makes sense that Antonellis wants to use the app as a weird new way to show people art.
Since the chip can hold a number of types of files one could get creeped out by the possibility of people getting chips implanted in them loaded with identification information or tracking technology. If that's you, scale it back. We're not there yet. In the meantime, this is a pretty cool application.
If you're not easily grossed out by needles and the like, check out the video below of Antonellis having the chip implanted and explaining why, courtesy of Animal New York.
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