Somark Innovations announced biocompatible RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) ink, which can be used to tattoo cattle and laboratory rats and can be read through animal hair.
It might even be used on humans eventually.
This is a passive RFID technology that contains no metals; the tattoos themselves can be colored or invisible.
Cows first
The Somark ID System creates a "biocompatible ink tatoo with chipless RFID functionality."
The RFID ink tatoo does not require line of sight to be read, as is the case with other RFID devices (making them better than a barcode for some applications).
RFID ink tattoos also solve the annoying problem of ear tag retention. Conventional RFID ear tags sell for about $2.25; about 60-90 percent of them eventually fall off. Also, Somark claims that the biocompatible RFID ink system will improve readability rates as well.
Humans next?...more
