Haven't musicians stopped complaining enough? Ever since the trend of things getting smaller and smaller to near negligible sizes and weights, there are still a few who would complain about having all that bulk that eats away on their precious spaces. What are objects and matter anyway in the first place? There will come a time when the laziest musician in the planet will suddenly drop using all gear and have something implanted. In the near future, music will be under your skin -- literally. The Jim Mielke Digital Tattoo Interface, an entrant in the Core77 Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2008, has been introduced as the latest Bluetooth device.

The Digital Tattoo interface is designed to interact with any device that has Bluetooth connectivity including applications such as cellular phones and others. It is a permanently implanted Bluetooth device made out of silicon and silicone, making it very flexible and as neutral to the body as any silicone-based implant you can imagine. The device is tightly rolled and inserted through a small incision; once inside, it is unfurled and fits right in between the skin and muscle. The first examples are implanted in the dorsal forearm. Two small tubes are then attached from the implanted device to an artery and a vein; the end result of which is the blood itself, flowing through the device, becomes an instant supply of power through utilization of glucose and oxygen.

The surface of the implant that faces the underside of the skin has a matrix filled with field producing pixels that activate a matching set of pixels tattooed onto the skin using microscopic spheres filled with sensitive material that turn from clear to black when activated with power. Once the implant activates these spheres, the display instantly appears on the skin surface, giving the user that namesake interface akin to a touchscreen control device.

Bluetooth connectivity along with a direct physiological interface, gives a person great interactivity between Bluetoooth-enabled devices such as computers and cellular phones/networks as well as provide instant monitoring of the body's physiological state such as blood pressure. In the future, applications may even call for direct monitoring of the blood's chemistry. In the fashionable side of things, it can pave way for constantly changing and concealable tattoos. You might be able to watch your favorite TV shows on the top of your forearm.

Now you may ask about what's this all got to do with musicians. One potential application for this device is an implanted controller. With the flexibility that the matrix of the Digital Tattoo Interface, you can have that ability to turn your forearm into a remote control for your audio interface, MIDI instrument, and others. As long as you have that Bluetooth connection going on, it now becomes possible for you to control any Bluetooth device, including those with musical and professional audio applications from right under your skin without carrying any other external gear. You can now see a future where musicians are performing on a concert by just tapping on their forearms.

As with ay new groundbreaking technology that involves surgical intervention, commercial applications may still be far from the present time. After all, clinical trials and FDA approval are still necessary prior to release in the market. In as much the same way as what is happening right now with the iPhone, we are bound to see that new revolution in music and professional audio once medical clearance and definite musical applications are obtained for this device.