Overview
Staying sun smart over summer might have just gotten simpler, thanks to a new piece of wearable tech from cosmetic giant L'Oreal. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this week, the My UV Patch is a temporary tattoo that syncs with a mobile app in order to monitor levels of UV exposure.
Developed by L'Oreal in partnership with design firm PCH and heath technology company MC10, the blue and white patch, which is less than 0.05mm thick, uses photosensitive dyes to measure UV levels, and changes colours depending on the wearer's level of exposure. Then all you need to do is snap a photo of the patch and the mobile app lets you know if it's time to head indoors. The patch is showerproof, and is designed to last approximately five days.
"The partnership with L’Oreal really identified an area around skin health where this technology could have value—not just like, cool stuff in a material science lab," said MC10 co-founder and vice president Roozbeh Ghaffari to Wired.
Tech companies have long speculated that smart tattoos could be the future of wearable tech. The My UV Patch will be available for free in 15 countries beginning later this year, although exact distribution details are still being hammered out.
Via Wired.