smart devices tagged posts

Invisible polymer film offers powerful conductivity for smart devices

Invisible material could revolutionise smart tech
Credit: La Trobe University

Scientists at La Trobe University have produced a new, powerful electricity-conducting material in research which could revolutionize smartphones and wearable technologies like medical devices.

The new technique uses hyaluronic acid, well known due to its popularity in skincare, applied directly to a gold-plated surface to create a thinner, more durable film, or polymer, used to conduct electricity in devices like biosensors.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Wren Greene said the technique could lead to major improvements in the function, cost and usability of devices like touchscreens and wearable biosensors.

“Conductive polymers as we know them were developed nearly 50 years ago and although they’re exciting, they haven’t lived up to their poten...

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Repurposed RFID Tags allow for Battery-free Sensing and Tracking

UC San Diego researchers develop low-cost, scalable passive sensors
Credit: Hana Tobias, Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego

Data is power. According to Dinesh Bharadia, an associate professor at UC San Diego in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Qualcomm Institute (QI), “data will be the next decade’s ‘silicon.'”

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things means that data is more readily available and easily accessible than ever. Sensors, “smart” devices and software connect our world to the cloud, gathering information and enabling new types of data sharing and analysis. However, most of these tools are battery-powered and have difficulty sensing changes in real time.

Now, the tide is turning.

New research presented and published in t...

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