Pokemon Go, Snapchat and now tattoos: Soon you’ll be able to get a tattoo that plays audio

Do you have a lyric tattooed to your skin, or the name of a loved one who has passed? You’ll soon be able to hear that song, or the loved one’s voice, thanks to Soundwave Tattoos.

Augmented reality has changed the way people interact with their devices and the real-world environment. Popular examples include Pokemon Go and Snapchat. Soundwave Tattoos follow the same theme.

In this case, you have a “soundwave” inked onto your skin — for example, a lyric from a song or the voice of a loved one — and via a cellphone or tablet app, can hear up to a minute of that audio played back instantly.

The person behind the idea, Nate Siggard, the founder and CEO of Soundwave Tattoos by Skin Motion, said the idea all started from an Elton John lyric.

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“I did a tattoo on a couple of friends of mine and they got a soundwave tattoo of an Elton John lyric,” Siggard told Global News. “My girlfriend suggested, ‘How cool would it be if we could play that back and hear it?’ I realized that was something we could do.”

Siggard said he made a demo of the idea, filmed it and put the video up online to see what people would say. The response was immediate.

“Within the first 24 hours of putting the video up, it got like 130,000 views or something,” said Siggard. “I actually started getting phone calls from friends of mine… letting me know we had something really serious and amazing,”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Within the first 24 hours of putting the video up, it got like 130,000 views or something," said Siggard. "I actually started getting phone calls from friends of mine… letting me know we had something really serious and amazing,"

But the soundwave is more than just about being able to hear your favourite song. It could also help someone grieving the loss of a loved one.

One video on the Skin Motion website tells a story of a man named Kevin who got a soundwave tattoo of his mentor, Tommy Terry, who before he died had left a voicemail for Kevin saying he loved him.

“It’s very comforting to hear that, and I always just remember the bond that we had. What he stood for, what he taught me,” Kevin says in the video.

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Siggard tells another story of a close friend’s father who passed away from cancer two years ago.

“He got a quote from his dad saying how if you believe in your dreams and you overcome your fears, then you can overcome anything,” Siggard said. “And while I was [doing the tattoo], he was getting really choked up.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He got a quote from his dad saying how if you believe in your dreams and you overcome your fears, then you can overcome anything," Siggard said. "And while I was [doing the tattoo], he was getting really choked up."

Since Siggard’s friend got the tattoo of his father, he has played it for many people who ask him about the Soundwave Tattoo.

“Now he gets to tell the story about his dad and his dad is getting to live on through the encouraging words.”

But the future of augmented reality is limitless, Siggard says, noting even 3-D tattoos are now a possibility.