![](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18/RZAOUZ4YYN3DGHMYBOVG4DH2OM.png?quality=85&w=2558)
![](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18/RZAOUZ4YYN3DGHMYBOVG4DH2OM.png?quality=85&w=2558)
If you find the idea of getting tattooed by human beings a bit tame, there’s a rather large, needle-wielding robot that’s got you covered. French designers Pierre Emm and Johan da Silveira have re-engineered an industrial robot arm to become a tattooist.
This isn’t the first machine the duo has turned into a tattoo artist; in 2014, they attached a tattoo gun to a 3D printer and gave it haptic sensors to pick up skin surface variations.
Their new protégé is precise enough to scrawl a tight spiral into a man’s leg. For each tattoo, Emm and da Silveira must first scan the body part that’s about to be inked. The team uses design software to match a pattern to the skin. They then strap the tattoo recipient into a chair to prevent any flinching-related accidents, and give the robot its orders.
[Via The Verge]