T-Mobile's New Robot Can Tattoo People Remotely
T-Mobile Netherlands has created a robot arm that can give people tattoos based on commands sent over its new 5G cellular network. The robot was built by London company The Mill to promote the network by showing how fast and reliable it is.
The robotic arm holds a tattoo machine which copies a real artist's movements as they tattoo an artificial arm in a separate location.
The first person to receive a tattoo from the robot was Dutch actress Stijn Fransen. She volunteered to have a small, minimalist design, inspired by her love of surfing and hiking, tattooed onto her arm.
The robot was controlled by Dutch tattoo artist Wes Thomas, who had also helped The Mill develop the robot. Thomas had first practiced with the robot by tattooing vegetables and artificial skin before it was used on Fransen.
Fransen said that she was "nervous" about getting the tattoo, but was excited once it was finished, saying "Wow, I have the first 5G tattoo. How cool is that?"
The Mill's Noel Drew, who led the team that created the robot, described the experience of seeing it used on a person for the first time as "intense."
T-Mobile also released a short film showing the process of creating the robot and giving Fransen her tattoo. The film, called The Impossible Tattoo — Powered by 5G can be seen on YouTube.
Like the Netherlands, many countries are in the process of building 5G networks, with South Korea leading the way and China and the US close behind.
With speeds up to 100 times faster than current 4G networks and up to 10 times faster than most normal internet connections, 5G offers new possibilities for a wide range of technologies.
