This article comes from cooperative media ifanr, INSIDE reprinted with authorization.
In 2017, among the top troikas of technology in the consumer sector, “wearable devices”, “drones” and “smart homes”, it seems that only the prospect of “wearable devices” remains, which is a bit worrying.
With the influx of a large number of wearable devices into the mass consumer electronics market, wearable devices with weak innovation and similar functions may have difficulty moving the hearts of ordinary users. In an environment where the prospects are uncertain and the enthusiasm of consumers is exhausted, some of the first “pioneers” represented by products such as Google Glass and Jawbone have also withdrawn from the market.
However, some new forms may change the future of wearable devices. For example, tattoos, an ancient technique that has existed for thousands or even longer, are now beginning to merge with technology and advance with the times to become the second layer of human skin.
Professor Takao Someya from the University of Tokyo and his R&D team have brought a futuristic wearable product—e-Skin (smart skin), which, like electronic tattoo products such as DuoSkin and SkinMarks, does not need to be implanted in the skin , Just stick it on the skin, you can record your body data through the skin.
Takao Someya stated his vision in a statement
If we can read the emotions of others and combine the device with the human body, what will the world be like? Perhaps in the future, the way people interact and communicate will greatly change, and technology will shape a whole new dimension of our lives.
Unlike ordinary electronic tattoos that can only work for a few hours, the biggest highlight of e-Skin is that its battery life is better. The prototype of the product currently demonstrated is enough to be used for a whole day. According to Takao, they used a polymer light-emitting diode, which is more efficient and energy-saving than the diodes used in other electronic tattoos.
The University of Tokyo team also tailored a protective coating for this electronic tattoo, which is conducive to the circulation of air and water vapor, and helps the skin to breathe and wick away perspiration. According to a paper published by the scientists in the journal Nature, the twenty volunteers who participated in the test did not experience itching, allergies or dry skin after a week of posting.
What’s interesting is that this kind of tattoo is also very close to the skin, not only will not feel uncomfortable when bending the arm, but also it is not easy to wear off. At the same time, it is more comfortable to stick to. The thickness is only 3 microns, which is thinner than some spider silk and equivalent to one-tenth the diameter of a human hair.
However, at present, e-Skin’s health detection function is relatively simple, and it can only detect the blood oxygen level in the skin by measuring light. Although this function is not as cool as the previous Duo Skin that can remotely control mobile phones or turn the skin into a touch screen, e-Skin also has a certain meaning. If it has enough monitoring functions in the future, it can be said that this is a long-term medical monitoring. Ideal choice.
In addition to monitoring blood oxygen levels, it has functions such as powering LED lights or transmitting data to a computer. After all, as a tattoo, its additional functions are also rich enough.
If this technology continues to advance, it will probably not be long before the wearable devices of the future may turn into subcutaneous wearable devices that flash off their sleeves like in the MV “OK” by James Blunt and Robin Schulz.
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