CRI听力:Electronic Skin

In the future we might all have a kind of "electronic skin" attached to our bodies. In "E-Skin", as it is known, liquid metal has been integrated in a sheet of silicone, creating a kind of stretchable electronics. The electronics can do various things depending on how they are designed.

E-Skin is in itself nothing new; scientists all over the world have been working on stretchable electronics for years. What is new is that this sheet of silicone and liquid metal also works as a wireless transmitter, sending data in real time to a nearby PC.

The project is the brainchild of two Chinese scientists working in Sweden.

Wu Zhigang is an Associate Professor at Uppsala University in Stockholm. Cheng Shi is a former PHD student at Uppsala University, now working for the Swedish Telecommunication giant Eriksson.

The two researchers have just developed a larger E-skin that is placed on the abdomen of a person. The device reports on the patient's breathing wirelessly to a nearby computer. Soon the researchers will develop a method to attach the device directly onto the body, but for now it is attached by two belts.

According to Cheng Shi the idea of making larger electronics is a relatively new one:

"In the past 50 or 60 years people always tried to make electronics smaller, high integration and trying to integrate more devices in to the same volume. But it turned out for some applications small electronic devices are not enough. Like, if you would like to measure the strain or bending of your knee you really need a device covering a big area."

There are already devices that are integrated into the body in different ways. Pacemakers have been implanted in people for decades, artificially keeping the heartbeat at the right rate. And at most gyms people can attach wired devices to their chest that can measure the heart and breathing rates of the person exercising.

However, these devices are solid, bulky and need cabling to report the data. According to Cheng Shi, for people that need a device attached constantly these would not be suitable.

"For sure if you are wearing a sensored device you would like to have your normal life. You would like to move around, walk around, that's for sure. And in that case you don't want to have this bulky, rigid device. I mean that is not part of your life."

The researchers believe that in the not too distant future e-skins will be attached to patients with heart problems, respiratory problems or to people suffering from epilepsy.

If the device notices something abnormal, such as an extreme slowdown or increase in the breathing pace or an unusual movement, such as when a person falls, it could send a warning signal to a nearby computer, or to the person's mobile phone, which will then send a signal to emergency services.

According to Cheng Shi, for this to work and be comfortable, the stretchability of the device is the key:

"If you have the stretchability, then it makes things much easier. Because it can take some strain and you can have this seamlessly connected or attached to your body surface."

For CRI, I am Li Dong.