By
NICK BILTONOCT.
8, 2014
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| MC10 is working on attachable computers that look like small rectangular stickers and that can be placed on various parts of the body. |
Credit
John
A. Rogers/The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
When it comes to the
future of computing, there is one major known and a principal unknown.
The
known, with almost guaranteed certainty, is that the next era of computing will be wearables.
The unknown, with commensurate guaranteed uncertainty, is what these wearables
will be and where on your body they will live.
Apple and Samsung, for example, are betting
on the wrist; Google, the face. A slew of tech companies believe clothing will simply become electronic. Yet
there’s a whole new segment of start-ups that believe all of the above are
destined for failure and that we humans will become the actual computers, or at
least the place where the technology will reside.
Their enthusiasm is on an emerging class
of wearable computers that adhere to the skin like temporary tattoos, or attach
to the body like an old-fashioned Band-Aid.
Many
of these technologies don’t look anything like today’s gadgets. Instead, they
are stretchable, bendable and incredibly thin. They can also be given unique
designs, to stand out like a bold tattoo, or to blend in to the color of your
skin.
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| MC10 attachable computers. |
Credit
John
A. Rogers/The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
While
these wearables raise novel privacy concerns, their advocates say there
are numerous benefits. Attachable computers will be less expensive to make,
provide greater accuracy because sensors will be closer to a person’s body (or
even inside us) and offer the most utility, as something people won’t forget to
wear.
MC10, a company based in Cambridge, Mass.,
is testing attachable computers that look like small rectangular stickers,
about the size of a piece of gum, and can include wireless antennas, temperature
and heart-rate sensors and a tiny battery.
“Our devices are not like wearables that
are used today, where people wear them for a little bit and then throw them
into a drawer,” said Scott Pomerantz, the chief executive of MC10. “Ours are
always on you. We have the smallest, most flexible, stretchable, wearable
computer, and you can collect all sorts of biometric data tied to your motion.”
MC10 recently teamed up with John A.
Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who has been working for nearly a
decade to perfect flexible devices that can be worn on the skin or implanted
internally.
How would these gadgets work? Imagine
being able to slap a few Band-Aid-size sensors to your body when you go for a
run, then seeing a micro-level reading of your exercise on your phone.
Maybe you want to figure out which
deodorant would be best for you. This would be done with a sticker that tracks
your sweat level, then emails you a few brand recommendations. Or if you want
to monitor your baby’s breathing, you would stick a little sensor on the baby’s
chest that will alert you to any problems.
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| MC10 attachable computers. |
“We’ll
eventually see a more intimate integration of electronics and biological
systems,” Mr. Rogers said in a phone interview. “Without that kind of intimate
physical contact, it’s going to be difficult, or maybe even impossible, to
extract meaningful data.”
The
health applications are enormous. Over the past year, Mr. Rogers and his team
of scientists have been working with patients with Parkinson’s disease to
monitor their motions, dermatologists to treat skin diseases, and beauty
companies like L’Oréal to develop digital stickers that track skin hydration.
Wearable-computer
advocates are also giddy about the infinite style possibilities. “It turns out
that the mechanics of these devices are 100 percent compatible with kids’
standard temporary tattoos,” Mr. Rogers said. Meaning, they can be made to look
like tattoos, with each segment containing different sensors.
Anke Loh, the chairwoman of the fashion
department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has been
experimenting with making the attachable computers look like body art. “You see
these patches and you really want to put them on your skin, even without
knowing what the function is,” Ms. Loh said, noting that most wearable
computers today are clunky and ugly. “There’s a lot of potential to combine
fashion and technology.”
On a more futuristic front, scientists at
the University of Tokyo have been working on an “e-skin,” which, as you may
have guessed, is an electronic skin that sits on top of real skin. It looks
like a flexible and stretchable sheet of plastic wrap, yet contains lots of
health-related sensors.
In another iteration of e-skin, scientists
are working to add a layer of LEDs, turning it into a functional screen that
sits on the body.
Digital skins offer numerous applications,
not only in monitoring a user’s health, but also as a visual user interface.
They can be used on lifelike prosthetics and even replace smartphones one day.
(Imagine your forearm as a touch-screen display.)
But don’t throw aside your smartwatch or
say goodbye to Google Glass just yet. It will be a while before our wearable
future becomes known.
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