Ubiquitous conformable systems for imperceptible computing

Abstract

Purpose Although conformable devices are commonly designed to couple with the human body for personalized and localized medicine, their applications are expanding rapidly. This paper aims to delineate this expansion and predict greater implications in diverse fields. Design/methodology/approach Today’s device technologies continue to face fundamental obstacles preventing their seamless integration with target objects to effectively access, evaluate and alter self-specific physical patterns, while still providing physical comfort and enabling continuous data collection. Due to their extreme mechanical compliance, conformable devices permit the query of signals occurring at interfaces so as to decode and encode biological, chemical and mechanical patterns with high resolution, precision and accuracy. These unique and versatile capabilities allow for a marked change in the approach to tackling scientific questions, with the ability to address societal challenges at large. Findings Here, this study highlights the current state of these devices in a wide range of fields, such as interactive teaching, textiles, robotics, buildings and infrastructure, agriculture, climate and space, and further forecasts essential features of these devices in the near future. Originality/value This study justifies conformable devices’ growing utility through a novel quantitative analysis methodology that indexes peer-reviewed journal articles based on specific keywords, whereby this study tracks keyword frequency over time across specific fields in conjunction with conformability-like topics. The resulting trends’ trajectories provide the foundation for this study’s future projections. This study concludes with a perspective on the possible challenges concomitant with a ubiquitous presence of these technologies, including manufacturing, wireless communication, storage, compression, privacy and sharing of data, environmental sustainability, avoidance of inequality and bias and collaboration between stakeholders at all levels of impact.

Technology Roadmap for Flexible Sensors

“…Flexible sensors are expected to revolutionize many fields because of the capability of continuously and wirelessly reporting the physicochemical status of irregularly shaped and dynamically deforming objects. A survey of research over the past decade has revealed the potential use of flexible sensors in many fields beyond healthcare, such as interactive teaching and surgical modeling, expression and creation (music, visual arts, textiles, and fashion), robotics, prosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, urban planning, buildings and infrastructure, agriculture and veterinary care, climate, renewable energy, and ocean and space exploration . Which of these potential applications demonstrated in labs are worth the translational effort remains a tough yet critical question.…”

A Conformable Ultrasound Patch for Cavitation‐Enhanced Transdermal Cosmeceutical Delivery

“…In this study, we report a hands-free IFS system, the conformable ultrasound patch (cUSP), with small (0.8 cm 2 ) piezoelectric discs (PZT-Ds) optimally positioned within a conformable poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate. [49][50][51] Leveraging a conformal platform allows tight control of the relative spacing between the ultrasound source and the curvy target membrane. The resulting cavity provides a 1 mm-deep reservoir space for the coupling fluid medium wherein inertial cavitation, convective mixing, and microjet formation can be induced on the surface of the skin.…”

A conformable sensory face mask for decoding biological and environmental signals

“…This good reliability is attributed to the low aspect ratio of the pillar (0.7) in the adhesion layer, which makes it less likely to collapse during the attaching and detaching cycles 33 . The adhesion requires an improved understanding of the factors related to face mask non-compliance, gathered in the form of feedback and data from users under real-world scenarios, as well as proactive conformable decoding of this information 19,20 . Considering the difficulty in self-assessing the fit quality and the prevalence of counterfeits, providing real-time fit quality feedback directly to users is also of great value 9 .…”

“…Embedded wearable electronics could potentially be used to achieve a conformable interface with skin, decode biological signals and record the status of the face mask 4,[20][21][22] . However, current wearable electronic devices-which include patches 23 , smartwatches 24,25 and face-mask-compatible systems 26,27 -are only intended to monitor biological signals and symptoms related to infectious diseases [25][26][27] , including breathing patterns 26,[28][29][30] , infection with COVID-19 (ref.…”