New Invention Allows Electronics to Become Wearable Tech in The Blink of an Eye
A research team at KAIST has developed a new platform that can mechanically transform its shape, flexibility, and stretchability.
When designing an electronic device, you’re faced with a very early decision: how will people use this thing I’m making? Wearables are everywhere, but you can bet that people intended them to be worn from the early stages of the concept. Thanks to a new invention, that decision could be a thing of the past.
In the electronic equivalent of “having your cake and eating it too,” a team working under Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST has invented what they call a “multifunctional electronic platform,” which allows users to seamlessly and precisely tune the stiffness and shape of the design.
Going With The Flow
We’ve always known electronics to be static and rigid in their form factor, which is why this new concept is so intriguing. Professor Jae-Woong Jeong elaborated, saying:
“This new class of electronics will not only offer robust, convenient interfaces for use in both tabletop or handled setup, but also allow seamless integration with the skin when applied to our bodies.”
So, how does it all work? The platform uses a specialized gallium metal structure that is both hermetically sealed and encapsulated in silicone material. This is combined with electronics that are both flexible and stretchable.
A change in temperature is all it takes to trigger the mechanical transformation. When it comes into contact with the human body, the gallium within changes to a liquid state, thus softening the entire structure.
When you peel it off the skin, it becomes rigid again. Combine this with flexible circuits, and you have an extremely versatile setup. The team demonstrated a variety of use cases, like multi-purpose personal electronics, pressure sensors with a tuneable bandwidth and sensitivity, and even a neural probe that softens when it’s implanted into brain tissue.
If this technology makes it to the mainstream, it could heavily impact consumer electronics, biomedical designs, and even robotics.
Me personally? All I can think about is that scene from The Matrix where they put that robot into Neo’s body after it covers itself with a gel and burrows into him. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to that.
