Motorola’s tattoos and pills could replace passwords

Motorola’s forthcoming phones could use electronic tattoos or pills to identify users, it has been announced.

The technology, which aims to remove the need to enter passwords and replace them simply with a phone being close to a user’s body was announced by Motorola Mobility’s head of advanced technology and projects group, Regina Dugan during the All Things Digital conference in California on Thursday – and while it’s still in the gestation phase, so to speak, it could point to the future.

The pill in question is no ordinary tablet – it contains a tiny chip but no battery – instead it gets its power from the acids in your stomach.

The Proteus Digital Health pill, reffered to as the ‘authentication vitamin; by Motorola, has already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and was given European regulatory approval in 2010.

The pill creates a unique signal like an ECG trace that can be picked up by devices outside the body and which could be used to verify a user’s identity. It will send out an 18-bit authentication signal, which your device will pick up and use in lieu of a password. It can be taken daily for up to a month, it has been claimed.

The tattoos on the other hand have been developed by Massachusetts-based engineering firm MC10, and contain flexible electronic circuits like the pill, that are attached to the wearer’s skin using a rubber stamp and sends out a signal that your smartphone or tablet will pick up..

In the future, both the pill and tattoo could serve other purposes – such as opening your front door or starting your car.