With the rate of enhancements in the field of wearable tech growing, in particular with touch sensing and stretchy bio skin technology, we’ve got some good news for you from the research front. New enhancements are making it easier to mimic the functionality of biological skin thanks to Professor Takao Someya from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering. They announced, at AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, their latest research by a Japanese academic-industrial collaboration.
New Interfaces for Wearable Tech & Fashion Tech
Wearable technology today has made it possible to track biometric data but for some people, the existing interfaces and devices aren’t necessarily making things easier. When you think of the elderly for instance or even people with prosthetics, there is still a lot of ground to gain. When operating and obtaining data could be less strained for these groups there could be a great benefit for home self-care systems immediately adding more accuracy in measuring vital signs and other medical data for any diagnostic purposes.
The new research presented by Professor Takao Someya showed how an integrated biomedical sensor system with an ultrathin elastic display, called “skin electronics,” can transfer key biometrics to the cloud with the help of a flexible screen-like, lightweight sensor composed of a breathable nanomesh electrode and a wireless communication module mounted on a rubber sheet.
To be able to create compelling types of wearable technology and useful medical use cases in this area, it was fundamental that they integrated sensitive sensors that can flex and even stretch without changing their electronic properties. This, in turn, ensures that the wearable devices are able to offer value in terms of fashion tech design. In the case of Professor Someya’s work, the enhancements mean that a device can now monitor health by measuring biometrics or taking an electrocardiogram and then transfer the data to a smartphone wirelessly.
On the wearable tech collaboration between researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering and Dai Nippon Printing (DNP), a leading Japanese printing company, Someya shared, “Our skin display exhibits simple graphics with motion because it is made from thin and soft materials, it can be deformed freely.” He continues, “The current ageing society requires user-friendly wearable sensors for monitoring patient vitals in order to reduce the burden on patients and family members providing nursing care.”
FashionTech Consultant, Freethinking Opportunist Hero, Aspiring to Inspire. Wearobot Groupie with a Tech for Passion. Contributed to Wired.com. Founder of WearableGuru.com Founding Managing Editor FashNerd.com