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A team of researchers from the College of Engineering and Applied
Sciences at Nanjing University recently unveiled an innovative display
that is thin and flexible enough to be worn on skin, like a type of
temporary tattoo.
Having to check a stopwatch to see your time while running, or looking
at your smartphone screen to see who is calling may soon be things of
the past thanks to a new and revolutionary human-machine interface that
allows information to be displayed directly on human skin. Called
alternating-current electroluminescent (ACEL) display, this new
invention consists of an electroluminescent layer made of light-emitting
microparticles sandwiched between two flexible silver nanowire
electrodes. The ceramic nanoparticles embedded in stretchable polymer
make this ACEL display brighter than any other, allowing it be clearly
visible even in a well-lit room.
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Flexible ACEL displays have been done before, but what makes this
particular one so important is that it can be safely worn on the skin.
It produces very bright light even at low voltages and generate little
waste heat that does’t surpass 45 degrees Celsius (scientist are already
working on lowering that even more).
“These so-called epidermal sensor may allow the continuous monitoring of
heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and even glucose,”
Professor Desheng Kong, who coordinated the project, wrote. “The display
will provide visual information of these metrics. These metrics are very
important for athlete training and biomedical areas. You may see some of
these demonstrations in the near future.”
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To demonstrate one of the potential uses of this revolutionary display,
the researchers created a bright stopwatch and attached to the back of a
volunteer’s hand. The numbers were clearly visible, and the voltage was
very low, because “the device doesn’t produce any detectable
electricity”.
Well, at least now biohackers won’t have to insert all sorts of gadgets
under their skin, they’ll be able to stick it on as high-tech temporary
tattoos.
Professor Desheng Kong and his team believe that the new ACEl display
could soon have applications in smart wearables, soft robotics and
human-machine interfaces.
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