Soon, you may be wearing your computer on your skin, instead of keeping it in your pocket, backpack, or on your desk.
Next Big Thing – Wearables That Change Lives
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a skin-tight computer interface that is easy to attach/detach and could be used for everything from health monitoring to fashion. It’s part of a growing interest in skin-based wearable computers.
“Skin-worn computers are particularly useful because they can accurately capture human movement and physiological states, including vital health data, while allowing the wearer to remain mobile and perform daily tasks,” Carmel Majidi, director of the Soft Machines Lab at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering, told Lifewire in an email interview.
Cornell scientists recently published a paper describing a plug-and-play wearable computer system aimed at people with little or no technical expertise. The kits are made using temporary tattoo paper, silicone fabric stabilizer and water, creating a multilayered thin-film structure that the group calls “skin cloth.” The layered material can be cut into different shapes and fitted with miniaturized, flexible, printed circuit board modules to perform different tasks.
