Forget pills, tattoos will be the password of the future

Senior Vice President of Motorola Mobility’s Advanced Technology and Projects group Regina Dugan exhibited two ‘wearable computing’ technologies that might be able to help us avoid the hassles associated with passwords at AllThingsD’s D11 conference.

The first, was a pill. The next was a tattoo. Yes, you heard that right.

The Proteus Digital Health pill has been the subject of discussion across the web since Dugan’s announcement. Dugan describes the pill as a “reverse potato battery,” and contains a switch which is powered by stomach acid. The pill will create a unique 18-bit signal similar to an electrocardiogram, a non-invasive test which records the electric signal generated by a heartbeat. The pill’s signal will be picked up by a patch worn on the skin, which will then translate physiological responses into signals sent over BlueTooth, essentially turning the entire body into an authenticator.

Then there’s the electronically generated ‘tattoo’ (although a sticker may be a more apt description) that is applied to the skin with a rubber stamp. Dugan wore one on her wrist at the conference. According to Motorola, the tattoo has “islands of high-performance silicon connected by accordion-like structures” that are solid enough to be functional but can flex to move with the skin. It uses sensors and an antenna to recognize a device and send out the authentication signal, unlocking whatever it is you’re trying to access without entering a password.

It’s an interesting piece of technology which could bypass the need for the increasingly common two-factor verification system used by most tech giants today. The system, however, is fairly cumbersome and requires users to carry a trusted device with them in order to enter a specialized code when prompted in addition to their typical password.

With the expanding capabilities of hackers and frequent incidents of cyber crime, it’s becoming increasingly important to use complex and unique passwords for computers, phones and online accounts. But long and unique passwords become difficult to use, leading to easier to remember, and easier to hack, passwords used across multiple accounts.

“Authentication is irritating. In fact it’s so irritating only about half the people do it, despite the fact there is a lot of information about you on your smartphone, which makes you far more prone to identity theft,” Dugan said, according to The Telegraph.

But both technologies are still a ways off. The stamp ideally will become a more permanent feature, but it’s still being developed, and although the FDA has approved the digital pill, it’s not yet ready for use.