Smartwatches will be replaced by self-renewing "electronic skin", researchers claim

Scientists have developed a kind of "electronic skin" that they claim heralds a new era of cheap and sustainable alternatives to smartwatches.

Thin and flexible plates with the ability to self-regenerate can be worn on any part of the body to monitor indicators such as heart rate, number of steps, calorie consumption and similar functions shown by modern smart watches.

Ecclesiastical engineers and scientists from the University of Colorado who are working on the development of new technology claim that their invention will "bring into question the existence of various wearable devices", and at the same time will significantly reduce the amount of electronic waste. "If you want to wear it like a watch, you can put it around your wrist," said Jianliang Xiao, a mechanical engineer and associate professor at the University of Colorado. "If you want to wear it as a necklace, put it on your neck ... It is really very stretchy, which provides many more possibilities that were not available before," the professor points out.

The team managed to improve and perfect the electronic skin, which it presented as a stretch electronic film concept in 2018.

The plate is created by inserting thin electronic threads between two layers of film made of extremely flexible and self-renewable polyimine material. The resulting device is slightly thicker than the layer of warm wax applied to the skin. "Smart watches are functional and beautiful, but it's still a piece of metal hanging from a belt," said Wei Chang, a chemistry professor. "If you really want a wearable device, it would be ideal for it to be a thin film that will fit comfortably on your body," adds the professor. A research paper describing innovative technology has been published in the scientific journal Science Advances.

Would you wear this instead of a watch?

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