Researchers Create an Interactive Glowing Gold-Leaf Tattoo

DuoSkin, a customizable wearable designed and created by MIT Media Lab, is the most recent thermochromic pigment invention that has got everyone excited.

The customizable wearable which is in the form of a tattoo, is made of thermochromic pigment, a layered adhesive, a silicone interface, and gold leaf. When heated, this tattoo changes color via programmable thermochromic pigments.

So how does this mechanism work?

Asta Roseway, a research designer at Microsoft and student Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao worked with Media Lab on the project. The two place gold leaf underneath the thermochromic layer, where gold leaf is the conductive material as well as the resistive heating element.

When connected to a small battery, the gold leaf (layer) heats up, allowing the thermochromic layer to change color.

The duo also attached an Arduino mini underneath the wearer’s sleeve to be used as a microcontroller that processes the sensor data. This way, the wearer can touch or rather control the tattoo like a button to change color or even change songs.

Usually, it takes approximately 30 seconds for the color to fully display and another 50 seconds for the pigment to change back to its original color. According to Hsin-Liu Kao, 30 seconds delay is due to the fact that pigments are typically slower as compared to regular displays, although they tend to have an ink-like effect and are more textured.

Additionally, the researchers developed a smartphone app that would enable the wearer to control the content displayed. The wearer can use the app to update their “skin status.” They also utilized the NFC technology found in Android phones and Windows to “communicate” with the tattoo.

The inspiration for their invention comes from the highly popular stick-on body jewelry.

“I like to call the tattoo “hybrid body crafting,” said Hsin-Liu-Kao. According to Lao, the main aspect of their invention is to imitate body art with the idea to make it difficult to distinguish from real tattoos. Their goal was also to make this capacitive touch slider much more aesthetically appealing.

Thermochromic pigments have evolved steadily since they first hit the mainstream in the 1970s, which lead to the invention of mood rings. Nowadays, they are used in many creative and fun applications, one of them being the DuoSkin.

The DuoSkin is one incredible invention that has basically changed the way people view thermochromic pigments. What’s even more interesting is the fact that these tattoos are able to withstand some exposure to water, just like normal tattoos.