What are e-skins and why could they be the wearable of the future?

The advance of the technology it has allowed researchers to create unimaginable things. One of these creations, and one that has resonated a lot lately, is the electronic skin or e-skin, which could also become the wearable of the future. What are they and why is this prediction thought to come true? We’ll tell you then.

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It is a Flexible circuitry technology based on the capabilities of human skin. Ravinder Dahiya, professor of electronics and nanoengineering at the University of Glasgow, told the outlet Scientific American that “it was in the 1980s that we began to see some touch sensors that can be called a crude version of the skin.”

Over the years, this technology continued to advance in search of greater flexibility and versatility to stretch. According to the Xataka medium, ”The research has benefited from other companies, such as the development of polymers and the search for greater flexibility for portable electronics”.

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“By 2004 Takao Someya, from the University of Tokyo, reported a 8×8 centimeter flexible patch with high performance layers, equipped with pressure sensors and that it allowed current to flow, a contribution that allowed robots to handle a primitive sense of touch thanks to the ability to respond to pressure ”he added.

Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin”: The device senses and wirelessly transmits signals related to pulse, sweat, and ultraviolet exposure, without bulky chips or batteries. https://t.co/eOqFoPP6pP pic.twitter.com/he1vII0ga4

—Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (@MIT) August 19, 2022

The goal behind is achieve authentic skin-based sensitivity and, to achieve this, a solution capable of integrating the various materials is needed. In addition to ensuring prolonged contact with the skin.

But why is it said that they will be the wearables of the future? It is believed to be the use that could be given in the field of health.

In this regard, engineers Mariam Turki, Xuan Li and Lixnaxi Zheng added in Current Smart Materials that “The e-skin mimics the detection capabilities of the human, which provides many potential applications in robotics, artificial intelligence, prosthetics and health monitoring technologies”.

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At present there are already scientists developing this technology. One of the examples is the flexible sensor created by engineer Zhenan Bao from Stanford University in 2010. “Bao is also a co-founder of PyrAmesa startup developing a band meant to be wrapped around a wrist or foot that can be used to monitor the blood pressure of premature babies”Xataka pointed out.

Wei Gaoa biomedical engineer at the California Institute of Technology, worked on a project that consisted of “combining tactile and temperature sensors with others capable of detecting chemical substances”.

Finally, there are those who go for more and have delved into ultra-thin electronic devices that can be used as tattoos.

Source: Elcomercio

Callum

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