A research team at the University of Colorado Boulder is developing a skin-like electronic device that resembles human skin and sticks to it. The “electronic skin” is cheaper, more eco-friendly, and durable than current monitoring devices.
Dr. Jianliang Xiao, associate professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder, and Dr. Wei Zhang, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, are leading the research in developing the so-called “electronic skin.”
To manufacture their bouncy product, Xiao, Zhang, and their colleagues used screen printing tools to create a network of liquid metal wires. They then sandwich those circuits between two thin films made of a highly flexible and self-healing material called polyamine.
The device’s artificial outer layer also proved to be quite resilient, according to a news release. If the material is damaged, pinching the damaged areas together would begin reforming the areas. The damage was nearly undetectable after 13 minutes of pinching. The skin is reconfigurable to fit anywhere on the human body.
Zhang said, “The electronic skin is a cheap, recyclable alternative to wearable devices like Fitbits. The current device is only slightly thicker than a Band-Aid and capable of stretching up to 60% in any direction without harming its inner components.”
“If you want to wear this like a watch, you can put it around your wrist,” Xiao said. “If you want to wear this like a necklace, you can put it on your neck.”
The electronic skin is also much more environmentally friendly device than its other wearable counterparts.
The research group said, “If you toss one of these patches into a recycling solution, the device will separate into its component molecules, while the electronic components sink to the bottom. The electronics and the stretchy material can both be reused.”
Xiao said, “The device is self-healable, so which means reliability. We usually go through smartphones, Fitbits, and electronic watches every two or three years. There would be a considerable amount of waste reduction.”
The group said that one day, such high-tech skin could allow people to collect accurate data about their bodies — all while cutting down on the world’s quantities of electronic waste.
There are no direct contacts with medical device makers, but the possibilities are extensive with the technology, the researchers said.
Xiao explained, “Take the current pandemic — in the future, there could be a network of patients that can all have these electronic skin patches monitoring things like temperature, respiratory function, or any of the COVID symptoms. The information could be directly sent to your doctor in real time, along with your communities. This situation could be conducive to combating things like COVID-19 in the future.”
Zhang continued, “Artificial intelligence and robotics are emerging as prominent trends. Electronic skin can push these technologies further and further. I want to emphasize we feel that collaboration for sciences and engineers has helped with our research. I think more collaboration like this can lead to a lot of potential with this technology.”
