Moving from the touch screen to the touching your arm…literally.

Michelle Marchante / Contributing Writer

Who needs a phone?

That seems like an odd type of question to ask. While it’s true that technically, no one really needs a phone, it’s a product that is held dear by many, myself included. Cell phones are no longer just a useful technological device, but rather, an additional part of our body. You can’t go anywhere without seeing someone on their cellphone, whether they’re talking, texting, using Twitter or playing the hottest game.

Everywhere you look on campus, people are looking down at their phone’s screen. Who would’ve thought that a small portable device would become so important to us? Well, the days of carrying a cell phone may possibly become nonexistent in the near future. Why would I say that, you ask?

The cellphone may be close to becoming obsolete, with a new technological invention, the Cicret bracelet, courtesy of Cicret, a french startup company. Cicret plans to revolutionize the world with their bracelet that transforms your arm into a smartphone, with all the capabilities of one. Cicret’s bracelet idea is simple. You snap on the bracelet  and with a shake of your wrist, bam, a holographic image of a touch screen appears on your arm. According to the company’s concept video the bracelet will be a waterproof device that comes in two sizes — 16GB and 32GB — and 10 different colors, comprised of a digital projector that uses eight long range proximity sensors, with connectivity options such as WiFi, Bluetooth and a Micro USB.

While this idea sounds wonderful and quite frankly, impossible, if this invention were to truly succeed what would it mean for future cellphone users? Being able to send and receive messages, play games, check your mail and answer your phone on your arm seems a bit out there and more like it belongs in a movie.

At the time of the bracelet’s concept video, Cicret still hadn’t created a prototype, using computer-generated imagery instead to show what its product could do. This led many people to believe it was a farce since the company is asking for public donations to make its product a possibility. Recently though, Cicret’s co-founder Guillaume Pommier claimed in an interview with Gizmag that they now have a working prototype and are in the process of “upgrading it.”

If Cicret’s product proves to be the real deal and not a farce like many suspect, it certainly will be a large step in the technological world, but would it really be an advancement for us? The line between our humanity and technology is thinning; where do we stop and the machine begins? While it does seem like an amazing idea, not having the weight or the size of a cellphone, but instead a simple, lightweight bracelet, the concept might potentially be harmful. It’s already known that being on your phone 24/7 is harmful to our bodies, and that too much texting could lead to repetitive strain injury otherwise known as “Blackberry thumb.”

If injuries like this can occur by using a solid platform, what type of injuries would be sustained from typing away on our own arm? Could it cause more joint and muscle pains? Could the sensors inherently damage our nervous system much like a laser would? Would our skin get irritated? Risk or not, the idea of the bracelet is compelling. If Cicret actually gets enough donations to fund the making of this bracelet, Pommier expects to have it out in the public market within a year and half, with a possible retail value of $400.

In a year or two from now, when you’re walking through campus, instead of seeing people glued to their phone, will we now be seeing people glued to their arm?