Electronic Skin

Physiological measurement and stimulation techniques that exploit interfaces to the skin have been of interest for more than 80 years, beginning in 1929 with electroencephalography from the scalp.

 Nearly all associated device technologies continue, however, to rely on conceptually old designs. Typically, small numbers of bulk electrodes are mounted on the skin via adhesive tapes, mechanical clamps or straps, or penetrating needles, often mediated by conductive gels, with terminal connetions to separate boxes that house collections of rigid circuit boards, power supplies, and communication components. These systems have many important capabilities, but they are poorly suited for practical application outside of research labs or clinical settings because of difficulties in establishing long-lived, robust electrical contacts that do not irritate the skin and in achieving integrated systems with overall sizes, weights, and shapes that do not cause discomfort during prolonged use. Professor John Rogers introduces a different approach, in which the electrodes, electronics, sensors, power supply, and communication components are configured together into ultrathin, low-modulus, lightweight, stretchable “skin-like” membranes that conformally laminate onto the surface of the skin by soft contact, in a manner that is mechanically invisible to the user, much like a temporary transfer tattoo.