New 'Smart Tattoos' Address Technical Difficulties of On-Skin Computing

Cornell University researchers have developed a trustworthy, skin-tight computer system that is simple to attach and detach and may be used for several applications, from fashion to health monitoring. On-skin interfaces, also referred to as ‘smart tattoos,’ has the potential to perform better than current wearable technology in terms of sense, but balancing comfort and longevity has proven difficult.

“We’ve been working on this for years,” said Cindy (Hsin-Liu) Kao, assistant professor of human-centered design, and the study’s senior author, “and I think we have finally figured out a lot of the technical challenges. We wanted to create a modular approach to smart tattoos, to make them as straightforward as building Legos.”

“SkinKit- a plug-and-play system that aims to lower the floor for the entry” to on-skin interfaces for those with little or no technical expertise- is the product of countless hours of development, testing and redevelopment,” Kao said.

Temporary tattoo paper, silicone textile stabilizer, and water are used in the fabrication process to create a multi-layer thin film structure they refer to as ‘skin cloth’. The layered material can be configured with electronic gear to carry out a variety of functions and cut into the necessary forms.

“The wearer can easily attach them and also detach them,” said Pin-Sung Ku, lead author of the paper and Hybrid Body Lab member. “Let’s say that today you want to use one of the sensors for certain purposes, but tomorrow you want it for something different. You can easily just detach them and reuse some of the modules to make a new device in minutes.”

Source-Medindia