Market forecast
25 Feb 2021

E-textiles and Smart Clothing 2020-2030
Forecasts taken from IDTechEx report "E-textiles and Smart Clothing 2020-2030: Technologies, Markets and Players"
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25 Feb 2021

A Critical Year for Haptics as New Technology Options Mature
Investment and development in haptics is accelerating, and the supply chain providing the actuators, drivers and software behind these key components is evolving at a faster pace every year. IDTechEx's latest report on haptics, "Haptics 2021-2031: Technologies, Market & Players", predicts that the industry will be worth nearly $5bn in 2025.
24 Feb 2021

The Future of Electronics is Stretchy
Stretchable electronic circuits are critical for soft robotics, wearable technologies, and biomedical applications. The current ways of making them, though, have limited their potential.
23 Feb 2021

Breathable Skin Monitors that Wick the Sweat Away
A new preparation technique fabricates thin, silicone-based patches that rapidly wick water away from the skin. The technique could reduce the redness and itching caused by wearable biosensors that trap sweat beneath them.
23 Feb 2021

Energy Harvesting Technology to Make Roads Safer
An eco-friendly energy-harvesting smart sensor could help make roads safer by identifying potentially dangerous driver behaviour.
22 Feb 2021

Credit Card Sized Soft Pumps Power Wearable Artificial Muscles
Robotic clothing that is entirely soft and could help people to move more easily is a step closer to reality thanks to the development of a new flexible and lightweight power system for soft robotics.
22 Feb 2021

Self Powered Cycling Helmet Harvests Light for Power
The world's first self-powered cycling helmet which integrates an innovative light-harvesting material, which can convert any light source, indoor or outdoor, into electrical power.
19 Feb 2021

6G Communications Trillion Dollar Opportunity
Phone systems change every ten years. 5G communications is now rolling out worldwide. It is time to plan 6G communications for 2030! Although little is decided - not even the frequency - much can be said about the extremely ambitious 6G objectives and challenges. This article gives the IDTechEx appraisal of 6G communications 2021-2041.
18 Feb 2021

Microfluidic Sensor to Measure Lactate Concentration in Real Time
Although lactate-measuring wearable sensors have already been proposed, most of them are composed of materials that can cause irritation of the skin. To address this problem, a team of scientists recently carried out a study to bring us a more comfortable and practical sensor.
16 Feb 2021

New Skin Patch Brings Us Closer to Wearable, All-In-One Health Monitor
Engineers have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and heart rate while measuring the wearer's levels of glucose as well as lactate, alcohol or caffeine. It is the first wearable device that monitors cardiovascular signals and multiple biochemical levels in the human body at the same time.
12 Feb 2021

Signs of Burnout can be Detected in Sweat
We've all felt stressed at some point, whether in our personal or professional lives or in response to exceptional circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. But until now there has been no way to quantify stress levels in an objective manner.
11 Feb 2021

Wearable Device Turns the Body into a Battery
Researchers have developed a new, low-cost wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery.
11 Feb 2021

Smart Sensor Bandage to Prevent Chronic Wounds
In a time of COVID-19 restrictions and minimal travel, many people are turning to virtual doctor appointments and consultations as a safer alternative to in-person doctor visits. Researchers at are working to make this new wave of telemedicine more successful by creating an oxygen-sensing patch printed on a flexible, disposable bandage that can interact with a smartphone. This smart bandage could enable remote monitoring for the early detection of illnesses such as pressure ulcers, allowing for immediate treatment or intervention.
Full profile interview
10 Feb 2021

Conductive Transfers
Conductive Transfers is an early-stage UK-based company that has developed an innovative approach for manufacturing stretchable electronics based around transfer printing. They are targeting wide range of applications including medical devices and printed heaters for automotive interiors.
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Topic overview
10 Feb 2021

Electrically Conductive Adhesives
Electrically Conductive Adhesives: Fundamental Principles, Materials and Uses
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9 Feb 2021

Rapid, Reliable On-Site Drug Detection Using Wearable Sensor
Researchers have developed a wearable sensor that can detect illegal drugs in sweat by using a flexible, wearable sensor.
8 Feb 2021

Textile Sensor Patch Could Detect Pressure Points for Amputees
A soft, flexible sensor system created with electrically conductive yarns could help map problematic pressure points in the socket of an amputee's prosthetic limb, researchers report in a new study.
Update interview
5 Feb 2021

Creative Materials
Creative Materials are manufacturer of functional materials, based in Ayer, Massachusetts, for applications in printed, wearable, and medical electronics, among other applications. Tecnology Analyst Thomas Lynch from IDTechEx spoke to their Vice-President of sales, Matt Ganslaw, about their work with electrically conductive adhesives.
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Topic overview
5 Feb 2021

Strategy Lessons from Latest News
In this article we introduce some guidelines useful in formulating your strategy. In other articles we have given the latest on tools that are useful such as the profitability V curve and the experience curve.
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5 Feb 2021

Load-Reducing Backpack Harvests Energy from Walking
Hikers, soldiers and school children all know the burden of a heavy backpack. But now, researchers have developed a prototype that not only makes loads feel about 20% lighter, but also harvests energy from human movements to power small electronics.