Blackdot's AI-powered tattoo device promises to make tattoos faster and less painful

Austin-based startup Blackdot has developed an AI-powered tattoo device it says is faster, safer, and less painful than a human-made tattoo.

While it is automatic, the device is not a self-serve tattoo device, nor does it generate the designs itself. First, artists design intricate tattoos like fine patterns or optical illusions.

Then, an operator guides the client throughout the entire process, from consulting on the location of the tattoo to applying the stencil. Then the tattoo device gets to work.

"The Blackdot device performs the work of a tattooist – but not a tattoo artist," said Blackdot's founder, Joel Pennington. "Blackdot is a tool, not a replacement."

The tattoo device utilises a digital microscope and image processing algorithms to determine the optimal depth of needle penetration, taking into account the skin type and tattoo location.

Pennington explained that the device can deposit the ink precisely at the junction between the epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin) and the dermis (the middle layer), which means the needles avoid most of the nerve endings.

"Most clients say our tattoos register as 0/10 to 2/10 on a pain scale, compared to the 5/10 to 8/10 people typically experience with traditional tattooing," he said.

The device uses thin "bugpin" needles that are 0.25mm in diameter, or the size of a human hair. Ensuring that these dots look great on a wide range of skin types took years to master, while the whole device is the culmination of six years of R&D and real-world testing.

As Pennington explained, skin properties differ from person to person, and from one body location to another (the skin on your forearm might be thinner than that on your inner bicep.

The Blackdot team had to develop methods to stabilise, analyse and track the skin properties in real-time, increasing tattoo complexity with every year of development.

The team, which includes John Hopkins PhD candidates and PhD fellows, also had to balance speed with precision, since faster motion translates into vibrations that reduce accuracy.

To date, the startup has two devices in operation – one at Bang Bang NYC, which is the most followed tattoo studio in the world, and another at the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. The machines have performed what Pennington estimates to be 400 to 500 tattoos.

The company is currently building a third device that will be deployed early next year, at the first US location of Steel N Ink, the largest tattoo studio in Canada.

They are also working on a setup that would allow clients getting tattooed by a Blackdot device to share the moment with the tattoo artist who would join remotely via video.

"This kind of virtual guest spot preserves the personal connection between client and tattoo artist, but in a completely new format – one that breaks down geographic barriers,” said Pennington.

Pennington – who first developed a curiosity and passion for tattoo culture while leading customer development at the California roastery Bellweather Coffee – was the first to get a tattoo by a Blackdot device.

"Nearly everyone I interacted with – café owners, baristas, even people throughout the supply chain – had tattoos," he recalled. "I started asking questions and quickly gained an appreciation for how diverse and deeply held the views are within tattoo culture."

His first tattoo was a starburst tattoo on his hip. Since then – and after making the dots even smaller – he has gotten three more visible tattoos, all executed by Blackdot. One of them – a dragon holding a guitar – was designed by his youngest daughter.

Similar technology has been around since at least 2016, when French design studio Appropriate Audiences carried out "the world's first tattoo by an industrial robot".

Other news relating to tattoos includes ink developed by MIT to "track health".

Images courtesy of Blackdot.

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