New wearable tracker can transmit vital signs from a soft, tiny package

Body sensors have long been bulky, hard to wear, and obtrusive. Now they can be as thin as a Band-Aid and about as big as a coin. The new sensors, created by Kyung-In Jang, professor of robotics engineering at South Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, and John A. Rogers, Northwestern University, consists of a silicone case that contains “50 components connected by a network of 250 tiny wire coils.” The silicone conforms to the body and transmits data on “movement and respiration, as well as electrical activity in the heart, muscles, eyes and brain.”

This tiny package replaces many bulky sensor systems and because the wires are suspended in the silicone you are able to create a denser electronic. From the release:

Unlike flat sensors, the tiny wires coils in this device are three-dimensional, which maximizes flexibility. The coils can stretch and contract like a spring without breaking. The coils and sensor components are also configured in an unusual spider web pattern that ensures “uniform and extreme levels of stretchability and bendability in any direction.” It also enables tighter packing of components, minimizing size. The researchers liken the design to a winding, curling vine, connecting sensors, circuits and radios like individual leaves on the vine.

The researchers can power the device wirelessly which means it can sit almost anywhere on the body. Further, the team expects to be able to use this system inside of robotics where a softer, squishier connector is needed.

“Combining big data and artificial intelligence technologies, the wireless biosensors can be developed into an entire medical system which allows portable access to collection, storage, and analysis of health signals and information,” said Jang. “We will continue further studies to develop electronic skins which can support interactive telemedicine and treatment systems for patients in blind areas for medical services such as rural houses in mountain village.”

Comments

Google Capital invests in Girnar Software, owner of Indian auto portal CarDekho.com

Girnar Software , which runs several auto portals in India including CarDekho.com , has raised an undisclosed amount of new funding from Google Capital, with participation from returning investor Hillhouse Capital. This is the fourth Indian startup Google Capital has invested in (its portfolio also includes Freshdesk , Commonfloor , and Practo ). Before this round, Girnar Software had already raised at least $80 million. In addition to CarDekho.com, Girnar Software runs car classifieds sites Gaadi.com and Zigwheels.com , former competitors which it acquired in 2014 and 2015 , respectively, and motorbike marketplace BikeDekho.com . Girnar Software expanded its auto portal business internationally last March with the launch of CarBay.com , which operates in 25 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and South America. The company plans to continue growing overseas with its la...

Three Reasons Why You Need Better Personal Cyber security

From the infamous Sony hack to the recent WannaCry virtual catastrophe that affected over 300,000 computers, the need for reliable personal cyber security has never been more apparent. Rubica's skilled team of experts want to remind every one of the importance of cyber security and the three reasons why it is becoming a more pressing issue every day. With top-notch personal cyber security, most attacks are preventable. 1. Larger Number Of Attacks Americans have heard of the most notable attacks on major corporations or government entities over the past several years. However, most people who are not in the information security field do not learn just how much the attack frequency is growing. The number of cyber attacks carried out worldwide in 2015 was quadruple a number of attacks recorded in 2013. Although the cost associated with the number of annual recorded attacks is in the $500 billion range right now, experts say that it will grow well into the trillions by ...

WhatsApp 2.12.45 Adds The Option To Back Up And Restore From Google Drive

I know it seems that we have a new WhatsApp post every couple of days on Android Police lately, but it ain't our fault. The app's developers, specifically the Android team, appear to be drinking the good kind of kool-aid and kicking one new version after the other with not only bug fixes, but also lots of new goodies. So first there was the Web "client" , then the saga of the voice calling feature rollout, followed by the Material design update , and now Google Drive is being implemented as a backup option inside the app. It was only a few weeks ago that we received translation strings that hinted at WhatsApp's potential plan to enable backing up and restoring your conversation history and media to Google Drive. But the function just went live in the app's most recent version 2.12.45 which can be found on APK Mirror — the official WhatsApp Android download page still lists 2.12.44 at the time th...

Google brings the Iditarod to Street View

Alaska is home to one of the toughest endurance events in the world: the Iditarod — a 1000+ mile dog sled race across the vast wilderness that is the U.S.’s northernmost state. Most of us will never get to see this race in person (or participate in it), but you can now experience a part of the race with the help of Google Street View . Last year, Google put its Street View Trekker on a sled driven by 1984 Iditarod winner Dean Osmar. Things didn’t always go according to plan, though. Google says the sled crashed three times, but sources with knowledge of the situation tell me that the hand you can see in the image below is still attached to a body. The weather also wasn’t ideal, so the race organizers had to move the first leg from its traditional starting point in Anchorage to Fairbanks, though the 2015 race still included a slushy 11-mile track around Anchorage . After tackling some rather obvious projects, Google’s Street View team has recently stepp...

So, when will your device actually get Android Oreo?

Google officially just took the wraps off of Android Oreo, but there are still some questions left to be answered — most notably, precisely when each device will be getting the latest version of the mobile operating system. Due to Android’s openness and a variety of different factors on the manufacturing side, it’s not an easy question to answer, but we’ll break it down best we can. First the good news: If your device was enrolled in the Android Beta Program, you’ll be getting your hands on the final version of the software “soon,” according to Google. Exactly what that means remains to be seen, but rest assured that you’ll be one of of the first people outside of Google to take advantage of picture-in-picture, notification dots and the like. No big surprise, Google handsets will be the first non-beta phones to get the update. The Pixel, Nexus 5X and 6P are at the top of the list, alongside Pixel C tablet and ASUS’s Nexus Player set-top box, which will be receiving the upgrade i...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog