transfer printing tagged posts

Electronic stickers can turn ordinary toy blocks into high-tech sensors within the ‘internet of things.’ Credit: Purdue University image/Chi Hwan Lee

Researchers have developed a new fabrication method that makes tiny, thin-film electronic circuits peelable from a surface. The technique not only eliminates several manufacturing steps and the associated costs, but also allows any object to sense its environment or be controlled through the application of a high-tech sticker. Eventually, these stickers could also facilitate wireless communication. The researchers demonstrate capabilities on various objects in a paper recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

As society moves toward connecting all objects to the internet – even furniture and office supplies – ...