In the Future, You Can Power Your Smartphone With Sweat Tattoos

Sweat power, or sweat equity, just got a lot more meaningful with electronic tattoos. The new technology is from the University of California at San Diego, where Joseph Wang and fellow researchers have devised a way to extract electrical power from body sweat.

Researchers were able to create smart tattoos by embedding lactate sensors onto temporary tattoo paper that is attached to the skin during exercise. The strip contains an enzyme that strips electrons from lactate compounds.

In general, the more intense the exercise, the more lactate the body produces.