Stretchable skin sensor could help you touch things in VR

Virtual reality doesn’t quite match up to the “reality” label without tactile sensations, but that might not be an issue for too much longer. Cornell scientists have developed a new form of stretchable skin sensor that uses fiber optics to provide a...

Samsung’s extra-stretchable display can survive dents

Flexible displays are nothing new. However, most of them don't live up to the dreams of flexible tech -- they may only bend in a limited way. Samsung thinks it can do better. It just unveiled a 9.1-inch prototype OLED display that's stretchable in se...

Robots could get soft, stretchable skin that changes colors

Researchers from Cornell University have developed a potential skin material that lights up and stretches to more than six times its original size. The so-called hyper-elastic, light-emitting capacitors (HLECs) are made from transparent hydrogel elec...

Stretchable, serpentine lithium-ion battery works at three times its usual size

Stretchable, serpentine lithiumion battery works at three times its size

While we've seen more than a few flexible batteries in our day, they're not usually that great at withstanding tugs and pulls. A team-up between Northwestern University and the University of Illinois could give lithium-ion batteries that extreme elasticity with few of the drawbacks you'd expect. To make a stretchable battery that still maintains a typical density, researchers built electrode interconnects from serpentine metal wires that have even more wavy wires inside; the wires don't require much space in normal use, but will unfurl in an ordered sequence as they're pulled to their limits. The result is a prototype battery that can expand to three times its normal size, but can still last for eight to nine hours. It could also charge wirelessly, and thus would be wearable under the skin as well as over -- imagine fully powered implants where an external battery is impractical or unsightly. There's no word yet on whether there will be refined versions coming to real-world products, but we hope any developments arrive quickly enough to give stretchable electronics a viable power source.

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Via: ScienceDaily

Source: Nature

NC State builds stretchable wires from liquid metal, keeps headphones humming (video)

NC State builds stretchable wires from liquid metal, keeps headphones humming video

More than a few of us have had that moment of panic when our headphone cords catch on an object and cut the listening short -- sometimes permanently. Researchers at North Carolina State University could help mitigate those minor musical catastrophes with wiring that stretches up to eight times its normal length. The method fills an elastic polymer tube with a liquid gallium and indium alloy that delivers the electricity. By keeping the materials separate, unlike many past attempts, the solution promises the best of both worlds: the conduction we need, and the tolerance for tugs that we want. NC State already has an eye on stretchable headphone cords, as you'll see in the video after the break, but it also sees advantages for electronic textiles that could endure further abuse. As long as the team can eventually solve a problem with leakage when there's a complete break, we'll be glad enough to leave one of our common audio mishaps in the past.

Continue reading NC State builds stretchable wires from liquid metal, keeps headphones humming (video)

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Via: North Carolina State University

Source: Wiley Online Library

NCSU creates stretchable conductors from silver nanowires, lets gadgets go the extra inch

NCSU creates stretchable conudctors from silver nanowires, lets gadgets go the extra inchAs often as we've seen flexible electronics, there haven't been many examples that could stretch -- a definite problem for wearables as well as any gadget that could afford to take a pull or squeeze. North Carolina State University's Yong Zhu and Feng Xu may have covered this gap through a form of silver nanowire conductor that keeps the energy flowing, even if the wire is stretched as much as 50 percent beyond its original length. By coating the nanowires with a polymer that traps the silver when solid, the researchers create an elastic material that can crumple and let the nanowire take the strain without interruption. Although the stretchy conductor's nature as a research project could put any practical use years into the future, Zhu notes that it can take loads of abuse, making it a perfect fit for rugged mobile devices. It should also allow for robots with a gentler touch and a more natural look... although we'll admit we're skittish about the creepy androids likely to follow.

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NCSU creates stretchable conductors from silver nanowires, lets gadgets go the extra inch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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