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Palm OS Powered Tattooing Robot Debuts in Vienna

Makarand writes "Ananova has an article on the world's first tattooing robot. An Austrian electrician, after being left with some permanent reminders of his tattooing robot project, has unveiled his creation at a hi-tech fair in Vienna. He said that he had to test it on himself to get the robot do the right thing and has not recieved any complaints from volunteers who got a tattoo for free at the trade fair."

171 comments

  1. What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Who didn't predict that robots would eventually take over art as well as everything else? Next thing you know there'll be street robots doing oil paintings for cash.

    1. Re:What's next? by gl4ss · · Score: 2

      nah, bender is much better at the art of pickpocketing.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    2. Re:What's next? by nutshell42 · · Score: 1
      I can see it coming, the robot's playing the street organ and it's little human-on-a-chain's collecting the money

      Brave New World =)

      --
      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
    3. Re:What's next? by Lobsang · · Score: 2


      Who didn't predict that robots would eventually take over art as well as everything else? Next thing you know there'll be street robots doing oil paintings for cash.


      Or rather, doing oil paintings for oil. :)

    4. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably a PalmOS driven laser tatoo REMOVER robot. :)

  2. Huh? by Rhinobird · · Score: 2, Funny

    Who would want to tatoo a robot?

    --
    If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
  3. An Artist? by killgoretrout · · Score: 1

    The robot part is cool but the tattoo looks like an etch-a-sketch design.

    1. Re:An Artist? by Ponty · · Score: 2

      Yea, I don't know if I want to be stuck with something that looks like an etch-a-sketch picked for me by some nutty Austrian covered in examples of his previous attempts. That whole scene gives me the willies and when I see the look on that girl's face in the first picture, I realize I'm not alone!

  4. A PalmOS powered tatooing robot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will those tatoos be in 15 or 16 bit colour? ;)

  5. my first tattoo by LittleBigScript · · Score: 1

    First of it looks like a painless procedure from the photograph.

  6. Some one should listen. by Martigan80 · · Score: 0, Troll
    It was a hard job because the only person I could test it on was myself which was painful but a good incentive to get it right as soon as possible.

    Maybe MS should hookup electrodes to the developers and shock them everytime there is a big security whole! ;-P

    --
    This SIG pulled due to lack of funding. (This damn war is costing too much!)
    1. Re:Some one should listen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      everytime there is a big security whole!

      Your message makes no sense.

      Or maybe

      You're massage maks know sence.

    2. Re:Some one should listen. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1, Troll

      Maybe slashdot should hook up electrodes to the posters and shock them every time they fail to choose the right homonym. s/whole/hole/ there, sparky.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Some one should listen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Objection! They didn't put the jelly in the peanut butter sandwiches!

  7. Tattoo looks really really bad by TracerJPN_USMC · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it just me, or does that tattoo look really bad? It looks like something a little kid would draw on some paper, why would somebody want that on their body for the rest of their lives??

    --
    magnanomous.
    1. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by Ozan · · Score: 2

      As I understood, the tattoo shown was an example of the erroneous ones which occured during developement of the machine.

    2. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, IT'S ART! Something we Slashdotters will never understand. No matter how stupid it looks like.

      Remember that you must be stupid if you don't see the emperor wearing clothes.

      *cinderella

    3. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by Night0wl · · Score: 2

      I have to agree with you. And the article was particularly vague in how these "designs" are chosen. I don't think I'd trust my body to something like this.

      I'm reminded of joking with my friend while sitting in a tattoo parlour while his girlfriend was getting more work done on her tattoo.
      We joked about subjecting our selves as ginuea pigs for him to practice on, he's a really good artist so I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad. I mentioned getting "Doc's Dootle Pads" written down our fore arms in that styling you see in a lot of hispanic tattoo's

      --

      If I knew this thing was efficiant and good, I *might* trust it to tattoo me, though not without seeing it in action first.

      --
      Computational Madness in a round package.
    4. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by frankthechicken · · Score: 1

      This thing reminds me of the thousand monkeys, thousand typewriters continously hammering randomly on their keys, each linked up to the needle currently working their masterpiece on your limp, battered arm.

      And who exactly would trust a machine which was made by a bloke who tested his prototype on his OWN arm, the man is clearly an insane idiot.

    5. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by JonTurner · · Score: 2

      >>We joked about subjecting our selves as ginuea pigs for him to practice on

      I can't understand why it's necessary to practice on people, either for traditional "manual" tatooing or this robotic-style tatooing. Why not use a pork shoulder from the grocery butcher case, instead?

    6. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by CoolVibe · · Score: 2
      Because human skin and muscle tone (or lack thereof) is VERY hard to emulate with a pork roast.

      Also, being able to work around human dimentions is something that needs practice. If you want to tattoo the underside of a pork shouler, you just turn it around. Humans aren't that flexible.

      Also, it's something psychological. A tattoo artist should be able to put their canvasses at ease, because he/she's subjecting them to a lot of pain (relatively speaking).

      Pork shoulders have no emotions, humans do. That's why tattoo artists must train on humans. Also, humans are more capable of kicking the artist's ass if he/she fucks up.

    7. Re:Tattoo looks really really bad by matt_wilts · · Score: 2

      >Also, humans are more capable of kicking the
      >artist's ass if he/she fucks up.

      Mind you, it's considered bad form to eat the arm after a bad tattoo (which cannot be said for the pork shoulder, yum!)

  8. it's got potential by buzban · · Score: 2

    (i don't know about everyone else, but my graffiti skills are functional only...not pretty! ;)
    Freddy's computerised brain has a complicated programme for creating the designs that are constantly being improved and redesigned
    what would be really cool would be if the thing could run off of a more complex image, multiple needles and colors. Then you'd actually have something worthwhile...,you could do your designs on a PC, take your time, get it right, and then download it to the palm!
    BTW, my next tattoo is going to be color, not greyscale. ;)

  9. Hrmm by acehole · · Score: 5, Funny

    So is the robot gruff, look like a biker and makes fun of your tattoo choice as well as laugh when you scream?

    --
    Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
    1. Re:Hrmm by The+J+Kid · · Score: 2, Funny

      So is the robot gruff, look like a biker and makes fun of your tattoo choice as well as laugh when you scream?

      No, but he does have Ogg/Vorbis support

      --
      Moderation: +4. Modded 70% Funny and 30% Overrated. 100% Saturated.
    2. Re:Hrmm by G-funk · · Score: 2

      Dude it doesn't hurt that much... I'd laugh if you scream too :)

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    3. Re:Hrmm by SN74S181 · · Score: 1

      Some of us laugh at anybody stupid enough to get a tattoo in the first place.

      But it's permament. It shows that I have ideas that actually mean something!

      No, in fact it's a desperate way of trying to say something final, that you'll regret some day in the future when you're more mature.

      Anybody who is a true nerd is instead pondering the possibility of going back to school. Restorative surgery (to remove body piercing and other mutilations) and tattoo removal are going to be a booming business in less than a decade.

    4. Re:Hrmm by G-funk · · Score: 2

      ??? I don't know anybody who gets a tattoo to prove to other people that they mean something. Most people I know with tattoos just have them because they like the way it looks. People like you who say "anybody who has a tattoo / gets something pierced / grows long hair / shaves their head / whatever is a try-hard" have some serious issues that need looking at.

      Personally, I like tatoos, i like the way they look, i like them on other people, and I like them on me. So why shouldn't I get some? And to assume that for some miraculous reason that's going to change when I reach XX years of age (but of course you being so mature you already know everything you'll need) is fairly arrogant, don't you think?

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    5. Re:Hrmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey SN74S181,

      Why you so angry? I bet you are a fat 33 year old "comic book guy" virgin.

      U suk, fagghorx!!

    6. Re:Hrmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Restorative surgery (to remove body piercing and other mutilations) and tattoo removal are going to be a booming business in less than a decade.

      Surgery, bah! I don't know *WHAT* you got pierced, but just about any body part will heal by itself if you take the jewelery out for a few months...

    7. Re:Hrmm by Cid+Highwind · · Score: 1

      No, in fact it's a desperate way of trying to say something final, that you'll regret some day in the future when you're more mature.


      There's nothing more depressing than people who have nothing to say that they won't regret in a few years.

      Do you believe in anything? (Other than making fun of people braver than yourself, I mean)

      --
      0 1 - just my two bits
    8. Re:Hrmm by SN74S181 · · Score: 1

      Shit, I have more things I regret having said in my youth than you probably ever will.

      I once called the University of Minnesota Board of Regents 'motherfuckers' on a bullhorn while standing in the hall outside their monthly meeting.

      I once pissed off everybody at a rally because I set the effegy of the university president on fire too soon, and it interrupted 'the message' of somebody's speech.

      Hell, I'm painfully thankful that it's possible to delete old posts off the Deja (whatever the hell they call it now. Google?) usenet archive.

      It's 'brave' to get a tattoo? Good god.

  10. Now in development: Leg pulling robot! by reality-bytes · · Score: 5, Funny

    A Sadistic PalmOS powered Etcha Sketch! This really is a bit of a leg-puller isn't it?

    I mean, a guy with the genius(?) to come up with a robot like this, doesn't have brains enough to do the development and testing on a leg of lamb first??

    "I haven't had any complaints yet." said Mr Passath.

    Yes, thats because all your customers are lying on the floor with severed arteries.
    "Note to self: Must write limb-diameter-compensation algorhythm....."

    --
    Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
    1. Re:Now in development: Leg pulling robot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be animal testing. This takes a lot of buerocracy to be allowed.
      Of course he could have taken some leather spanned on wood to do initial testings.

    2. Re:Now in development: Leg pulling robot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      That would be animal testing. This takes a lot of buerocracy to be allowed.
      Of course he could have taken some leather spanned on wood to do initial testings.


      Ummm.. I believe he meant a leg of lamb from a butcher. Maybe he coulda done it to a turkey? You could have some interesting graffiti on it for Thanksgiving. :)

  11. the tattoo by LittleBigScript · · Score: 5, Funny

    It would go something like this.

    First write in your design...ok
    (I draw a dragon or something and then press whatever button)
    now tattooing....done

    Look at tattoo and see that it says,
    "1) pick up kids
    2) pay bills
    3) apt. with proctologist"

    oh, no!

    1. Re:the tattoo by LittleBigScript · · Score: 2, Funny

      You could have a long list of things on the arm, like 20 or so routine things...
      1) pay bills
      2) things at grocery
      3) goto AA meeting
      etc...

      and only have to remember the order that you have to do it on that day.
      "Lets see number 1,3,and five, and I did 6 yesterday."

      And if you forgot what arm your list was on, you could put on a tattoo on the other arm saying,
      "Look at other arm."

    2. Re:the tattoo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      4) ???
      5) Profit!

    3. Re:the tattoo by foniksonik · · Score: 2

      hmmmm... reminds me of a little movie I sas not too long ago, what was it called?

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    4. Re:the tattoo by stankyho · · Score: 1

      Haha, I took took some pictures to remember. But I forgot where I put them.

      --

      ---
      eeww, I'll have a crab juice.
    5. Re:the tattoo by Cybrr · · Score: 1

      That was like this commercial.

      --
      Why did GEAR crush RDP?
    6. Re:the tattoo by jallen02 · · Score: 1

      Memento

  12. i stand corrected by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Funny

    i've been telling a lot of people as of late that my software project is just plain painful.

    i stand corrected. this is a REAL painful software project. what kind of version tracking does it employ? does it write something like version 0.82 in the corner of each tattoo with each build?

    so does then does this guy have like 82 different beta tests on his arms/ elsewhere? what exactly does a buffer overflow/ divide by zero crash in tattoo form FEEL like? insert your own joke here.

    nevermind, i don't want to know. ;-P

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:i stand corrected by Grendel+Frost · · Score: 1

      At least it'll be easy to implement a "nag-screen" that definetly will get people to register.

      --
      Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.
    2. Re:i stand corrected by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      C:\>tracert life.liberty.pursuit-of-happiness

      [/home/erpo]$ yes \! Found it.

  13. Error code list by Mattygfunk1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just in case anyone is interested in purchasing one of these you may find this useful.

    ERR01 - "EAGLE? I thought you said BEAGLE."

    ERR02 - "We're all out of red, so I used pink."

    ERR03 - "There are 2 O's in Bob, right?"

    ERR04 - "Sorry, sir, your chest will only hold the bottle dinghy."

    ERR05 - "SEGFAULT"

    ERR06 - "Anything else you want to say? You've got plenty of room back here."

    ERR07 - "I'll bet you can't tell I've never done this before."

    ERR08 - "The flag's all done and, you know, the folds of fat make a nice waving effect."

    Disclaimer - adapted from this source

    ------

    treen_81 is now online

  14. time is money... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It frees up an artists time to concentrate on the hot chick tattoo on the crotch patients, while leaving a FSB (fat sweaty bastard) in the back room with the machine.

    " are you done in there ? "

  15. A perfect circle, can it be done? by JanMark · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wonder if the resolution on a Palm Pilot is high enough to do
    some serious tattooing. But the real win would be full colour
    tattoos. I have to wonder about precision though (just look at
    the picture, the Palm screen differs form the tattoo on the arm)
    I do not see any form of feedback. Since the skin has moving
    muscles underneath it, I think feedback is necessary to keep a
    tattoo consistent. Just imagine tattooing a big circle, start at
    the top and go clockwise. Will there be a (perfect) circle or
    will it be a C line shape or spiral? I would not give my right
    arm for it to be a perfect circle... Would you?

    --
    -- (:> jms cs.vu.nl (_) --"---
  16. Good thing it doesn't run Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd hate to get a tattoo of a blue screen of death on my ass!

    1. Re:Good thing it doesn't run Windows by Chokma · · Score: 0
      Well, M$ would like to tattoo their EULA and your personal, eternal Windows license number on your beautiful behind. -- of course, every Version would include an EULA-Update ;)

      "Please show your number to the Palladium-PC, Mr. Beast"

  17. Tattoos are artwork by Moderation+abuser · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The quastion is, do you want an original hand made one, or a printout, permanently etched into your skin.

    --
    Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
    1. Re:Tattoos are artwork by blincoln · · Score: 2

      I did both, twice.

      My first tattoo was a barcode (my SSN as a UPC) that I made myself using barcode software, and had tattooed by hand.

      The second was Kain's clan symbol from the Legacy of Kain games, which was originally designed by a human artist, but given to me by the director of the series as an EPS file, which was then tattooed by hand.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
  18. Error! by halftrack · · Score: 5, Funny

    Printer ink cartridge empty. Using secondary output; tattoo device.

    --
    Look a monkey!
    1. Re:Error! by The+J+Kid · · Score: 2

      Oops! tatoo device 1 on fire!

      --
      Moderation: +4. Modded 70% Funny and 30% Overrated. 100% Saturated.
  19. Use soaked leather, not your arm! by JanMark · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Mr Passath said: "It was a hard job because the only person I could test it on was myself which was painful but a good incentive to get it right as soon as possible.
    You have to wonder, Mr Passath is clever enough to design a tattooing robot, but why is he not clever enough to test it with a pen, transparent ink, or on soaked leather? I am not a tattoo specialist but this would work too, would it not?

    --
    -- (:> jms cs.vu.nl (_) --"---
    1. Re:Use soaked leather, not your arm! by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      I was thinking henna ink. On the other hand every time someone asks about the stupid mark on his arm he gets a chance to tell someone that it was a battle scar incurred while developing the first automated tattoo machine.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  20. Gee, and the tattoos are FREE? by MacAndrew · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How generous! They always give out the samples for free. And how much does the robotic tattoo remover cost? (See Dr. Seuss, The Sneetches .)

    Who the heck volunteers for these things? No matter how confident you are in a complete stranger covered with screwed-up tattoos in a booth, do you know tattoos are murder to get rid of? I guess the risk looks pretty small compared to a robotic vasectomy or X-piercing machine, powered by an OS popularly associated with corrupted address books.

    And while you're here, we need some volunteers to test the experimental anthrax vaccine... No, it's OK, 3 out of 4 sheep live to say it's da bomb.

  21. Ananova by DoorFrame · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does anyone else disbelieve every single story they read on Ananova? Just wondering. As far as I can tell they're one step up from the Weekly World News.

    1. Re:Ananova by David_Bloom · · Score: 1

      They do have a photo of the tatooing machine...although it does look slightly like a photoshopped robotic arm. That woman's face does look familiar...almost as if it were from some stock photo.

      --

      Karma: Excellent (fuck, even in the future moderation doesn't work!)
    2. Re:Ananova by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Does anyone else disbelieve every single story they read on Ananova? Just wondering. As far as I can tell they're one step up from the Weekly World News."

      And one step down from the Naked News.

  22. A Toy? by Omkar · · Score: 2

    Can someone tell me why this is under 'Toys'? Do people get tattoos when they're bored, or just for fun, or use this gadget frequently?

    1. Re:A Toy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no

    2. Re:A Toy? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Those persons who are not tribals have no need for a tattoo. It is for recreation only. (Making a statement through art counts as recreation unless you're throwing paint on fur coats -- then it's vandalism.) Also it's really not ready for prime time - see the various comments posted under this story - so it's nothing more than a toy at this point. Some day the technology will grow up to the point where it's useful but there's quite a bit between here and there.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  23. Reallocate troops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ya, just think how many more men we could have had on the Eastern front if we had one of these in '39.

    1. Re:Reallocate troops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get back in the oven, hymie.

    2. Re:Reallocate troops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you need a shower sir. You really need a shower.

  24. Re:I PREDICT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except this one, which will eventually be +5, Insightful.

    Right now it's -1, but that's just because some asshole moderator's got his head up his rectum.

  25. Accessory by bezza · · Score: 2, Funny
    So...is this available yet as an accesory to plug in my memory stick slot on my Sony Clie or what?

    This is really something I would need on the road.

    --
    WARNING: This sig does not contain a joke
  26. This story *must* be 4 months early. by smcv · · Score: 2

    At least, I really hope so...

  27. -1 What the fuck?!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's probably the only comment in the whole thread that makes sense. And it's not just meta - it says something about the story, albeit indirectly.

    Browse at +5 and see for yourself. Fuckers.

  28. So this poor man... by JustKidding · · Score: 5, Funny

    now has "hello, world!" tattooed onto his arm?

  29. Re:the Postscript Dump by cyber_rigger · · Score: 5, Funny


    Or you get a bunch of gibberish
    that quickly covers you entire body.

    You realize that you forgot to install the Postscript module.

  30. See Mine!! by spoonist · · Score: 2

    Luckily he made this machine big enough to fit on my penis.

    Read about and see the pix of my painful meeting with the machine here.

    (Yes, I am Jamaican, mon.)

    1. Re:See Mine!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, this guy is married, and he's looking at other guys cocks in public bathrooms??? I see problems with his relationship in the future.

  31. Robot by Veteran · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The the only movie I can remember with a robot tattooing someone is "Starship Trooper" - any other examples?

    1. Re:Robot by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      No other movie examples but in "diamond age" bud goes to a parlor where someone is being tattooed in order to get a skull gun installed.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Robot by jbayes · · Score: 1

      Right, yeah, I remember that.

      It was when the infantry were getting "Death from Above" tattooed on themselves. Now, ICBW, but when infantry is involved in a DFA, aren't they usually the recipients?

      Then again, it could have just been foreshadowing...

      --

      "It sure was strange to see something on Usenet about me that didn't involve Klingon gang rape." -- Wil Wheaton

    3. Re:Robot by Scrameustache · · Score: 2

      Well, they are the infantry, but they are dropped from spaceships. I think anything tatooed on you by a robot in a space station has "from above" inserted automaticly : )

      "Mom From Above"
      "Lucy From Above"
      "[picture of a mermaid] from above"
      etc
      : )

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    4. Re:Robot by kerch · · Score: 1
      Hmm, I remember reading a scifi novel in which one of the characters was always tattooing computer-generated images onto homeless people. Turned out that the image data actually a core-dump of an AI, and she was doing a sort of "distributed backup" from which the AI was later reconstructed, by rounding up all the homeless and scanning their tats.


      I forget the title, though... anyone?

    5. Re:Robot by JourneymanMereel · · Score: 1
      when infantry is involved in a DFA, aren't they usually the recipients?

      Not necessarily. "Death From Above is the Army Airborne slogan and most Airborne soldiers are infantry.

      --
      Life has many choices. Eternity has two. What's yours?
    6. Re:Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The book was Synners, by Pat Cadigan. A neat read, bit off the beaten sci-fi track. check it out at Amazon

  32. Cool until it reboots.. by velcrokitty · · Score: 2, Funny

    And tatoos the Palm logo on your butt...

    --
    I stick to walls...
  33. I've got 19 'Tats by The+Mutant · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And I don't see much of a future for this.

    I mean its a cool piece of work (I'm an AIBO owner and love stuff like this) but in the end Tattooing is more art than science, and I'm not sure the Robot can sub for the Artist, except in a purely mechanical way.

    Where the Robot might be useful is covering in large areas of skin with single colours (back, stomach, etc), but I don't see much capability here for detail work. And its not clear to me how the Robot handles blood - a human artist will wipe it away, restablish boundaries (i.e., check progress against finished design) and continue tattooing. If the Robot doesn't do this you're gonna be one bloody camper - litterally dripping! - by the time its over.

    Its not clear to me how the Robot determines depth. By this I mean how deep the needle is penetrating. If your Artist (human or Robot) doens't go deep enough, your growing skin will just push the design out as new cells form under the ink. Driving the needle too deep is another set of problems - potentially severe - as well.

    How will the Robot handle different skin? Everyones skin is different and absorbs ink differently. This is really a judgement call on the artists part - different coloured ink looks different on different peoples skin. You just can't use a bottle of RED and assume it will look the same on any two people because it won't. A good artist will adapt to this problem, both in real time (i.e., while the work is being done) and before the work begins.

    Also, don't forget that more complex 'Tats typically take multiple sessions, so you'll have a calibration problem next time you visit (i.e., aligning the machine and the existing 'Tat).

    Its not uncommon for some back pieces to take months if not years, involving dozens of sessions so these registration problems are potentially major.

    1. Re:I've got 19 'Tats by IgnorantKnucklehead · · Score: 1

      Also, don't forget that more complex 'Tats typically take multiple sessions, so you'll have a calibration problem next time you visit (i.e., aligning the machine and the existing 'Tat).

      I would think that there would be ways to compensate for this... scanning the tat area to get reference points on where to put the pen down.

      I doubt that idiot who will now permanently look like he has been doodling on his arm will be capable of coding that. :)

    2. Re:I've got 19 'Tats by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      It really is possible to solve all of these problems with additional hardware and software but obviously it's not being done here. It's possible to get pressure sensors of varying sensitivities so handling depth is not all that difficult. You can do a calibration of just a couple of marks in an area which will be filled in to determine how the skin takes the ink. A camera and some hip custom image recognition software can be used to determine how well all of this is coming out.

      As for what color looks like what on who, I'd personally set the machine up to mix its own inks, or pick another color where that is not possible, I'm not up on tattoo ink. Then I'd have a cleaning position where it would change colors, similar to an inkjet printer.

      The only thing I haven't figured out is blood. I imagine in the future you would have some kind of transparent coating on the skin that would mostly solve the problem for you.

      In the end this will probably end up being best done by a machine which mimics the human arm in important details to get a similar level of freedom, and a more complex sensor package at the end of the arm. A palm pilot won't have enough processing power to handle the details so one will need something more closely akin to an actual PC. A high-end one.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:I've got 19 'Tats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude! You aint' got NO tattoos - right? Whats this BS aobut "pressure sensors" and "transparent coating on the skink"?

    4. Re:I've got 19 'Tats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      only problem is the scabs and other shit that grow over a tatto. human artists will see this and compensate, but maybe the tattoo machine won't? and don't ferget that some colors cant be scanned...

    5. Re:I've got 19 'Tats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow! You're website is really sad.

      Please, Hammer, don't hurt 'em!

    6. Re:I've got 19 'Tats by blitziod · · Score: 1

      ok I see this as something that has real potential to change the world of body art. This could be as big as the first electric guns. The electric gun made tatt's hurt less and easier to give. This will ( if developed far enough) make pretty much anybody able to put a tatt on somebody regardless of their ability to draw perfect lines. It will not replace the artist( you still have to have a design) and a techinician will be needed to operate the machine safely. However people who have little artistic ability will be able to put ink on skin and have it look great.
      Another thing about tatt's is that the artist can't erase. This could allow talented artists to produce much better looking work in a program( simular to photoshop ) then have the robot copy it EXACTLY on to the skin. More so software could be made to replicate a model of the subjects skin, virtual skin per se, and it could be included in the initial design.

      --
      The only way to bust a doper--is when you yourself become a smoker!
  34. Heres the problem, by papasui · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When you got to a tattoo shop and say I want this tattoo the artist makes it and puts a bit of their style into it and it comes out unique to you. This robot will probably create the exact same tattoo for everyone that picks one out of a book.

    1. Re:Heres the problem, by Fnkmaster · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Eh. If you read the article you'll see that it CLAIMS that the tattoo-bot creates its own designs. As in some sort of wacky design generation procedure. You don't actually get to pick a design at all. The idea of a tattoobot is kinda cool in some ways, but the idea that I'd let a pseudorandomly generated design that a fucking Palm Pilot came up with be permanently etched on my skin is so laughable as to not even qualify for being funny.


      In short, this story is either pure fiction, stretched from truth until it was barely recognizable or just outright bollocks. I'm sure you could find volunteers to get tattoos from a machine if they could pick it, but who is gonna wander by a booth at some show and say, gee, it seems like a great idea to get a randomly generated crooked-ass-R shape tattooed onto my arm permanently. Might as well let a meat grinder make a random design on your hand.

  35. Permanent? by Nyh · · Score: 1

    I was wondering how permanent this tatoo would be. After a careful study of the picture he is IMHO using a BIC pen to do the tatoo.

    Ech Nyh!

  36. Re:Which is better: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Both would leave you marked for life!

  37. Re:Which is better: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Neither, I would choose sex with your mom!

  38. What if it were a Pocket PC and not a Palm? by snowdevil · · Score: 1

    DO you think the Pocket PC would require activation (taking a small blood sample) before applying the tattoo?

    1. Re:What if it were a Pocket PC and not a Palm? by tchdab1 · · Score: 2

      A PPC-based tatoo robot would of necessity sync the graphic from a Windows machine, no question. The EULA for a PPC-based tatoo robot would require a royalty for every tat applied (the software would be licensed for X tattoos), and would add a Windows logo to the lower-right side of the graphic. And randomly, roughly every fourth tattoo would be a plain bright blue square. But when it worked, the colors would be fantastic.

  39. The Harrow... by B3Geek · · Score: 5, Informative

    '...appears to do its work with uniform regularity. As it quivers, its points pierce the skin of the body which is itself quivering from the vibration of the Bed. So that the actual progress of the sentence can be watched, the Harrow is made of glass. Getting the needles fixed in the glass was a technical problem, but after many experiments we overcame the difficulty. No trouble was too great for us to take, you see. And now anyone can look through the glass and watch the inscription taking form on the body. Wouldn't you care to come a little nearer and have a look at the needles?'

    The explorer got up slowly, walked across, and bent over the Harrow. 'You see,' said the officer, 'there are two kinds of needles arranged in multiple patterns. Each long needle has a short one beside it. The long needle does the writing, and the short needle sprays a jet of water to wash away the blood and keep the inscription clear. Blood and water together are then conducted here through small runnels into this main runnel and down a waste pipe into the pit.'

    (excerpted from In The Penal Colony, Franz Kafka, 1919)
  40. Actually... by simetra · · Score: 2

    It looks just like the little picture on the Palm. Perhaps he should draw better. It's not like the Robot made the original design.

    --

    "Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
    1. Re:Actually... by damiangerous · · Score: 2
      It's not like the Robot made the original design.

      Umm, yes, it did: "Freddy's computerised brain has a complicated programme for creating the designs"

  41. Real uses for this by No+Such+Agency · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I suspect that the eventual use for this tech might be more along the lines of tattooing livestock etc, not people. I have no idea if livestock are tattooed for any reason (is branding still used?) but if you had to put tracking #'s on a large number of cows this might be the fastest way to do it. Needless to say, and at the risk of peripherally invoking Godwin's Law, I really hope nobody ever again wants to put tracking #'s on large numbers of people :-(

    --
    Freedom: "I won't!"
    1. Re:Real uses for this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Tracking numbers on people. My school has something like that; all students must wear their ID card around their neck, on a school-issued lanyard, and be clearly visible at all times with few (safety related) exceptions. Any students violating this will be sent home (or suspended or expelled if it happens frequently enough). If I were late to school one day, my card would be scanned, my picture and record would come up, and I would get a late slip. If I were in the hallways during my spare without a hallpass and a vice-principal noticed, the vice-principal could read my number over a walkie-talkie to the office, and find out if I really do have a spare. I want to take out a book from the library? They scan the card, and all the date related information is logged (overdue books in the library can cause students in computer courses much grief, as overdue books disable accounts (and stop students from getting the required texts for their other classes)).

      The only advantage to this is that if some student forgets their password for the network, all that has to be done is look at the card and enter in the number. At least this year the armed guards are gone (but the security cameras all over the place still give me the creeps) from my ordinary public high school (note: this school is in a Canadian suburb (but not a Torontonian one)).

    2. Re:Real uses for this by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2

      They're using subdermal chips on animals now -- basically, the guts of a smartcard yanked out and put in an ear or something. Cheaper, easier, and can be handled in an automated manner, unlike brands or tattoos.

      And maybe someday people will get this. Of course, at first it will be a convenience, like the first credit cards, and become more and more inconvenient not to have...

    3. Re:Real uses for this by lommer · · Score: 1

      Where is this school? And what school is it? Cuz if you're doing anything other than spewing lies that is really scary...

    4. Re:Real uses for this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I won't say too much about where the school is, or what its name is; it would be to easy for me to be identified if anyone at the school reads this. I don't want anything to harm my chances of graduating and getting into university (I am in OAC). The school is in Ontario (Canada), within 100km of Toronto. It is also the only public high school in two cities that offers a gifted program (why I'm paying ~$400/a to go there (no bussing for students who live closer to other public high schools))

      It's somewhat amusing at times there. One day last semester, during the morning announcements, I was reading _1984_ and in comes one of my classmates (who at that time did an announcement a day for a club he led). He was banned from reading that day's announcement as it dealt with censorship. I know that my school isn't the most open about some things. Last year we had a couple of what the administration calls "incidents". One of them I only found out about a week later in the newspaper (person robbing people at gunpoint), and another one I first heard of it when my parents asked me about it after I got home (a wall of the school had been shot, they saw it on the tv news). To paraphrase one of my teacher's comments about the school, everything short of murder has happened there.

    5. Re:Real uses for this by neurojab · · Score: 2

      Where, praytell, would you put a tattoo on a cow?

      It seems to me the current system of hi-vis ear tags is MUCH faster and more efficient than a tattoo, which you couldn't see anyway because cows have FUR. How are you going to get the cow to sit still through a tattoo session anyway? Drug her? Let's see how PETA likes THAT. I'm afraid the livestock application of this is just not feasible at all. Humans only.

  42. Great... by hitzroth · · Score: 1, Troll

    Somebody hooked up a plotter to a PalmPilot and used a tatooing needle for a pen. Just what the world needs.

    --
    In mathematics, one does not understand things, one merely gets used to them.
    --VonNeumann
  43. I before E except after C by 1u3hr · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Please "received" not "recieved".

  44. Not flexible enough by flikx · · Score: 1, Troll

    The system is only capable of tattooing arms, what about people who wish to have a big dragon tattooed on their chest? Or a large skull on their back?? What about MOM with an anchor on their ass???

    --
    One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
    1. Re:Not flexible enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about a TROLL with his DICK in his MOUTH?

  45. checking the source, we see that: by Hubert_Shrump · · Score: 1

    to toughTat
    draw pick [ snake eating rat [ "born to fight dinosaurs till jesus comes back or I die" ][ puppies ][ motorcycle with flames shaped like satan ]
    if :badass > 10 [toughTat]
    end


    (nods to Steve Purcell)

    --
    Keep your packets off my GNU/Girlfriend!
  46. The Windows Release? by Chembryl · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will someone please start a sourceforge project to get this ported to Windows? I can't wait to see people with BSOD permanently displayed on their bodies.

    --
    - This and all my posts are public domain. I am a Physicist. I am not your Physicist. This is not Physically advice
  47. when I think of tatoo by squarefish · · Score: 2

    'da pain, da pain'

    --
    Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
  48. And the first time this thing gets hacked... by sdo1 · · Score: 2
    ... people will unknowingly be getting tatoos that say "All of your arm are belong to us".

    -S

    --
    --- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
  49. The fine print by Xarin · · Score: 1

    Of course it will also "print" out a EULA as well.

  50. Re:Which is better: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You seem to assume my mother is not a mare. Why is that?

  51. 2 years too late.. by LinuxHam · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He missed a big market for people wanting to get the DeCSS code tattooed on them.. I'd like to see a collection of ThinkGeekish one-liners or icons..

    the I/O power button right over your heart..
    chmod +x /bin/laden..
    "tattoo" in binary..
    WTF?
    STFU
    the LNX or MP3 oval sticker
    foo on one arm and bar on the other (or knuckles like jake & elwood)..

    --
    Intelligent Life on Earth
  52. I have a tatoo in binary! by stackdump · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I used "-" for ones and "o" for zeroes, it is my last name "york" minus the "y", (my friends call me "ork" for some reason) so anyay it looks like this o--o----o---oo-oo--o-o-- and is situated vertically on my left arm. Here is a Picture (i didnt want to show the picture hosted on my dsl modem, just in case)

  53. Grrrr by CharlesV · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I had this idea two months ago... PROOF!

    Can I sue for prior art or somesuch?

  54. Biggest Tattoo by WookieOnTheRun · · Score: 1

    Maybe I'll get this robot to do my next full body tattoo-- the EULA.

  55. This could be done better by Jubii · · Score: 1

    First off, the Palm based idea is great for a quick, "gee that's cool," but once I saw the tatoo I was compelled to agree with a previous poster that it looks like child scribble. Throw in the notion that you can't pick the tatoo that will be on your body for ever and this quickly loses its wow-factor. While this is a good step in the direction of computer assisted tatooing (CAT?) it seems like there would be a better way of doing this.

    I'm sure you are all familliar with monogram setups. A simple desktop computer with some software can run a device used to monogram full multicolor designs on shirts and hats. Import an image, hit a couple of buttons and you have your business logo on your shirt. Why can't something like this be applied to tatooing? Using multiple needles (one for each color) and a scanner, the customer could get whatever design they want. If they didn't like the library of images on the computer, just scan in your custom picture.

    Sure there would be some nuances to work out, but if this guy can get a Palm to do it....

    --

    I planned on inserting something witty here but never got around to it.
  56. you're an idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    read the article stupid

  57. woo! by mrsmalkav · · Score: 1

    I guess it's time for those production-line barcode tattoos to become commonplace, eh?

  58. Kafkesque by denny_d · · Score: 1

    Did anyone read it, Kafka's http://www-ec.njit.edu/~pro3/NJIT/Options/Opt-S'98 Camp/Kafka/Kafka-00.html ?

    What a convenient tool for bar coding or worse. Low tech ID cards for prisons? police states?

    1. Re:Kafkesque by denny_d · · Score: 1

      Sorry. My bad.

      Kafka's The Penal Colony

  59. Robotic tattoos could be much better actually... by coryboehne · · Score: 3, Funny

    Ok, to qualify this... I would not let this particular little robot tattoo me, simply because it is far too primitive (I mean a 320x240 resolution?... uhhh, no thanks I'll pass)

    Now the merits of this idea, since this thing is a robot you will never have to worry about it getting drunk and fscking up your tattoo. It is capable of working very quickly, think about getting a tattoo that would normally take hours to do in only a few minutes (This would be ideal for those who don't care for pain as much as some people seem to)

    The tattoo will not just be a duplicate copy as you could write the software to randomly modify a few small factors such as particular color shades and small design elements to continue to have the one of a kind feel to the tattoo. I would most likely choose to use this with adobe Photoshop.

    Ok, how would this be done? I have a few ideas as to the particulars. This guy has already created an interface between the robotic mechanism and the command unit (palm in this case) so changing out the command interface shouldn't really be a big deal, I would hook up something like a 1.8 Ghz desktop to this thing (if portability was a concern use a laptop). For the software end of things I would choose to use Adobe Photoshop as that way only four passes would be necessary to render a full color tattoo (CYMK) using Photoshop to separate the color channels.

    And now for Johnny Carson's top ten reasons to have a robot do your tattoo...

    1. It won't try to steal money from your wallet when you pass out from the pain.

    2. It doesn't smell like camel cigarettes and cheap whiskey.

    3. You won't have to listen to it tell really bad stories.

    4. Yeah the equipment was sterilized, but when was the last time the artist was bathed?

    5. The robot will never puke on you in the middle of a tattoo.

    6. You can be sure the robot isn't going to try to get you drunk and take you home for a wild night of tattoos, sex, and odd things done with barnyard animals.

    7. Who wants a tattoo to take four hours, this baby can do them in four minutes.

    8. No bad breath in your face.

    9. I'm pretty sure the robot doesn't do cocaine...

    10. The robot will not be giving your girlfriend lewd looks while working on your tattoo and making fun of you when you scream, and telling you your a pansy ass bitch, and asking her why she would stay with a bitch, and it won't ask her if she wants a real robot, and ..... Oh man I need to lay down...

    heh, I guess this does have some advantages... If only it was a bit more advanced (although not "bender" advanced)

  60. Disturbing... by CoolVibe · · Score: 2, Funny
    Seeing a microsoft VS ad with this story.

    (leaves rest to reader's imagination)

  61. Even worse... by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2

    The skript kiddies of the 00's:

    I hax0r3d your tat00 mAc|-|in3!!!

    Talk about a lingering reminder of a break-in.

  62. Ummm..... Palm? by Egekrusher2K · · Score: 1

    Personnally, I would not trust something that has this little power. Build me a tattoo gun running on an 8 way Xeon setup, then I might think about it.

    --
    Listen to my experimental-industrial-techno!
  63. What about this guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some kind of head mounted Palm tattoo machine?
    Debian Neck Tattoo

  64. Sad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whats so sad about being financially independent?
    Or living in Europe?
    I've emailed The Big M and he seems ok - willing to share information and pretty generous with his time.
    Whats sad here is someone who insults anonymously.
    So what *your* problem?

  65. wrong category by Lanford99 · · Score: 1

    This should be in the "things that never should have been invented" category.

  66. here is a by gohai · · Score: 1
  67. Kafka? by Mr.Coffee · · Score: 1

    ok, all penal colony's aside, i feel this could be a very prominent step in robotic surgery. with the advances being made both in medicine and robotics, i feel that one day surgeries could be performed with similar robots, differently equipped, of course. all we have to figure out now is how not to kill the person and automatically dump their body into a ditch.

    --
    Cogito Eggo Sum, I think therefore I'm a waffle
  68. as a tattoo collector by painehope · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...and former body piercer ( as well as being a computer science major and sysadmin, just for background ), i don't think this thing has a chance in hell. As it currently exists, the quality is shoddy compared to the level of competency I expect from a professional tattoo artist. I'm sure that if money were thrown into it, a better tattoo robot could be built, but it would only be good for flash ( off the wall, FYI ) pieces, and even then, it would lack the creative touches that make even a flash tattoo memorable. A lot of people get custom tattoos ( most of mine are ) that will never be worn by anyone else, so the overhead to draw the sketch, then input it to a program to set the robot ( or program the robot yourself ) is prohibitive. The body modification scene puts a heavy emphasis on art and style, and I don't see any shop owners running out to buy one of these.
    I wouldn't get a tattoo by a robot. I'm a total technofetishist, but I would miss the human interaction. I pick certain artists for their style of doing things. Someone really has to be into the style of the tattoo for me to get the work done. No machine can duplicate that.
    Now, for the police state implications, hell, they could have already invented it, but I think that's going to far, and even the people who accept ( largely through ignorance ) the post-911 shenanigans of the government agencies and police would balk at this. It's too sinister. If they could pull it off, they undoubtedly would have done so already.
    Just my $0.02.

    --
    PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
    1. Re:as a tattoo collector by Nihilanth · · Score: 2

      you know, one of those magical things you can do with a computer is UPLOAD an image into another computer.

      Imagine working for hours in photoshop at the required resolution designing your own tattoo, emailing it to the robot, making an apointment, and seeing your creation reproduced exactly on your skin.

    2. Re:as a tattoo collector by painehope · · Score: 1

      one of those magical things you can do with a computer is UPLOAD an image into another computer
      and, I quote, :
      then input it to a program to set the robot
      gee, I think I already said that
      it's not the same...I have designed tattoos before. Actually, I've designed seven of the ones I currently bear on my body, and none of them are small. Part of what I was trying to say is that there is a certain human element that makes a tattoo wonderful. Like adjusting the lines or background according to the contours of the body, or to meld nicely w/ the surrounding tattoos, none of which I would trust a robot to do. I trust a computer to faithfully execute the image it is given, but as far as judgement goes, it has none beyond the responses to situations it is programmed with.
      So I don't trust a computer to have human judgement or a sense of art. You have a nice idea about how this thing should work, but I take it that you've never sat down and worked over a rough sketch w/ your tattoo artist, and then sat down and made it work with the other six tattoos covering that part of your body, huh?

      --
      PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
  69. IF I EVER MEET YOU I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  70. Re:Robotic tattoos could be much better actually.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is that what you think tattooists' are really like?

  71. Good thing it's not a newton by sys$manager · · Score: 2

    Gratuitous cut and paste

    Kearny: "Jimbo, take a note on your Newton: Beat Up Martin!"
    (Jimbo writes the note on his Newton and reads it back)
    Jimbo: "Eat Up Martha? Bah!"
    (Jimbo throws Newton away)

  72. Re:Robotic tattoos could be much better actually.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is that what you think tattooists' are really like?

    Shit, I forgot the tags for the painfully serious among the bunch...

    Sorry everyone.

  73. Re:Robotic tattoos could be much better actually.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Never been tattooed, have you?

  74. Foolish by HoaryCripple · · Score: 1

    He has been left with some permanent reminders of the project with some erratic early tattooing attempts.

    How hard would it have been to not use a real needle for the initial tests? Replace the needle with the head of a Sharpie and voila, indelible yet non-disfiguring marks.

  75. Thank God it's not WinCE based. by Shanep · · Score: 2

    Some people will be getting tattoos that read, "An exception has occured in Kernel32.dll" or a flying Windows flag logo.

    --
    War crimes, torture, lies, illegal spying... Would someone give Bush a blowjob, already, so he can be impeached?
    1. Re:Thank God it's not WinCE based. by bigsteve@dstc · · Score: 1

      I dunno ... the idea of those little needles is enough to make me wince.

  76. Kafka-esque by g4dget · · Score: 2

    Reminds me of In the Penal Colony.

  77. Tattoo by rat7307 · · Score: 2

    I have visions of my PDA crying out "The Plane boss!, the plane!!!"

    Or "the pain boss!!, the pain"

    RIP Herve

    --
    Burma?
  78. More technology used for sin. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD. Lev 19.28

    I guess Jamiroquai was right.

  79. Re:Robotic tattoos could be much better actually.. by Myco · · Score: 2
    Don't know about the parent, but I've been tattooed twice and on both occasions found the artist to be extremely professional and personable. Yes, there is tremendous variation among humans in any occupation, but in general tattooing is a demanding art taken very seriously by those who practice it. In any decent tattoo studio, this fact will be readily apparent to an objective observer.

    One thing to consider is that because almost all tattooists learn through apprenticeships (which are expensive, time-consuming, often humiliating, and in very high demand), there is a built-in quality control mechanism which weeds out the vast majority of the sleaze that people seem to think constitute the tattooist population.

  80. Could be worse... by TheConfusedOne · · Score: 1

    The real challenge would be finding the body space to run off the "Windows Printer Test Page"

    --
    --- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
  81. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    "A horrible little boy came up to me and said, `You know in your book
    The Martian Chronicles?' I said, `Yes?' He said, `You know where you
    talk about Deimos rising in the East?' I said, `Yes?' He said `No.'
    -- So I hit him."
    -- attributed to Ray Bradbury

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...