We have our smart watches, our fitness bands and our sets of underwear that are filled with electronics that whizz and pop but now wearable technology might take on a whole new meaning. Researchers in the University of Tokyo have developed an optoelectronic skin whose polymer LEDs and organic photodetectors are so thin (3 micrometers) that they practically blend in with your body. In layman’s terms and bereft of the scientific jargon, they’ve created an incredibly thin piece of wearable “skin” that lets you have digital tattoos.
Looking at pictures and the video of the technology, one instantly thinks of “In Time,” a movie starring Justin Timberlake where the amount of time a person has left it seen on a person’s skin. While the technology in its current state is a bit crude, both in appearance and design, it has already overcome numerous challenges so that it now lasts for several days and doesn’t break when you flex your limbs.
However the technology itself is currently limited in scope; it can only tell you what your current blood oxygen levels are, however that isn’t deterring the scientists and researchers at the University of Tokyo from being ambitious and as a result the team is now focusing on a display that shows more information.
