New trend of 'wannabe robots' implanting LED lights under their skin

The device is being inserted under the skin

A group of wannabe robots have had LED lights implanted under their skin. Three men in Dusseldorf, Germany, had the new device implanted in their hands and arms. The Northstar V1 chip, a little smaller than a £2 coin and thicker than a thumb, is a ring of little LED lights. It turns on using magnets and will illuminate any tattoos. The surgery, offered by Grindhouse Wetware, uses 'safe' technology to mix humans with robots. The operation came out of the desire of 'biohackers' to have something which lights up their tattoos.

Its founder Tim Cannon was one of the men to have the implant, which is supposed to emulate bioluminescence, the kind of light produced by animals like fireflies and some jellyfish.
Two years ago he had a 'cyborg' chip the size of a cigarette packet inserted into him, which was designed to record data from his body. It transferred the data to any Android-powered mobile device. A company spokesperson said: “Northstar V1, much like piercings and cosmetic surgeries, is purely for aesthetic purposes.
It is a simple device that will prove the possibility of implanting technology in the body and will pave the way for more advanced and functional augmentations."
Writing on its Facebook page, the organisation said many people had become excited at the lights on Tim's Circadia chip and wanted their own. The post said: "Many people who saw the lights were very excited. They have been waiting years for something like this.
"They asked for them to be made available. We obliged. So, yes, this version of Northstar simply lights up."

The device is activated for 10 seconds when brought near a magnet

The device was made from a printed circuit board with five red Surface-Mounted-Device Light-Emitting Diodes (SMD LEDs), which are activated for ten seconds when a magnet gets near the sensor. The device is powered by a 3 volt battery and coated in silicone. Because the operation contravenes the Hippocratic Oath, the bio-hackers have no support from the medical community. Instead they carry out the research themselves and use tattoo artists such as Österlund to carry out the operations.
The implant should hit the market next year.

Source: Mirror