Stretchable sensors, circuits and batteries are about to change our relationship to electronics and each other
Journal
Nature
Date
2017.09.21
Abstract
Within a few years, electronics will start to merge with our bodies to extend our perceptions. Smart phones and watches will give way to the bodyNET: multi-layer webs of connected sensors and devices woven into our clothing, worn on our skin and even implanted (see figure). A pregnant woman could wear tiny biometric sensors that continuously monitor the health of her baby, displaying its heartbeat on a stretchable screen adhered to her skin and transmitting its kicks wirelessly to the father’s belly, for example.
While the whole bodyNET system is not yet in place, its components are being developed in labs like ours. The central technology is stretchable electronics: elastronics. New circuits thinner than paper are being made from polymers ？ plastic membranes ？ that can deform without tearing, bio-degrade and even self-heal. Sensors able to respond to touch, pressure, temperature, humidity, light, chemical and biological signals are already available. But many hurdles still need to be overcome.