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The world is becoming awash with wearable tech, from the Apple Watch to the soon-to-be relaunched Google Glass. But a group of German researchers wants to take this a step further by turning the human body itself into a touchscreen. Called iSkin, the technology is a concept for touch-sensitive stickers that apply directly to the human skin, effectively removing the limitations of tiny screens or clunky headsets.
The concept is being developed by computer scientists from Saarbrücken in collaboration with researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Their electrically conductive stickers turn the skin itself into a touch surface, allowing users to answer a phone call or adjust the volume on a music player by stroking themselves. 'The stickers allow us to enlarge the input space accessible to the user as they can be attached practically anywhere on the body,' said Martin Weigel, a PhD student in the team led by Jürgen Steimle at the Cluster of Excellence at Saarland University.
Users of iSkin can design their own stickers on a computer beforehand so that they can be in control of how the smart patches look on their skin, similar to a tattoo. 'A simple graphics program is all you need,' continued Mr Weigel. In images released by the group, one sticker is in the shape of a tribal design, and resembles a tattoo behind the ear. Another example is an extendable keyboard for a smartwatch, so that the forearm can be used to type a message.
Silicone is used in the sensors because it is flexible and can be stretched, making it an adaptable material for use on skin. 'This makes them easier to use in an everyday environment,' said Jürgen Steimle, who heads the 'Embodied Interaction Group'.
'The music player can simply be rolled up and put in a pocket. 'They are also skin-friendly, as they are attached to the skin with a biocompatible, medical-grade adhesive. 'Users can therefore decide where they want to position the sensor patch and how long they want to wear it.' Currently, the sensor stickers are connected via a cable to a computer, but in the future in-built microchips will allow the stickers to function wirelessly, according to Steimle.
The base material for the patches is polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), an easy-to-process silicone-based organic polymer that is fully transparent and used in implants. By filling the silicone with black carbon particles, it becomes a conductor, and can be used for touch input. 'iSkin senses light touch and firm touch using capacitive sensing - similar to smartphones - and resistive sensing,' Mr Weigel told MailOnline. The prototypes are based on advances in robotics, and uses sensors and techniques designed to give robots a sense of touch to better understand their environment.
(The) technology is initially coming from robotics where it's used to give robots kind of a feeling similar to the human body, to human skin', Weigel added. 'However, we are the first to look into how we can use it on the body to control mobile devices; so as a kind of second-skin which nicely conforms to your body.' Currently there are no plans to release iSkin commercially, but the paper for the concept won the 'Best Paper Award' at the SIGCHI conference, which ranks among the most important conferences within the research area of human computer interaction.
Source: Dailymail
