PDMSkin – On-Skin Gestures with Printable Ultra-Stretchable Soft Electronic Second Skin

Innovative enabling technologies are key drivers of human augmentation. In this paper, we explore a new, conductive, and configurable material made from Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that is capillary doped with silver particles (Ag) using an immiscible secondary fluid to build ultra-stretchable, soft electronics. Bonding silver particles directly with PDMS enables inherently stretchable Ag-PDMS circuits. Compared to previous work, the reduced silver consumption creates significant advantages, e.g., better stretchability and lower costs. The secondary fluid ensures self-assembling conductivity networks. Sensors are 3D-printed ultra-thin (200%. Therefore, printed circuits can attach tightly onto the body. Due to biocompatibility, devices can be implanted (e.g., open wounds treatment). We present a proof of concept on-skin interface that uses the new material to provide six distinct input gestures. Our quantitative evaluation with ten participants shows that we can successfully classify the gestures with a low spatial-resolution circuit. With few training data and a gradient boosting classifier, we yield 83% overall accuracy. Our qualitative material study with twelve participants shows that usability and comfort are well perceived; however, the smooth but easy to adapt surface does not feel tissue-equivalent. For future work, the new material will likely serve to build robust and skin-like electronics

Sensing with Earables: A Systematic Literature Review and Taxonomy of Phenomena

Earables have emerged as a unique platform for ubiquitous computing by augmenting ear-worn devices with state-of-the-art sensing. This new platform has spurred a wealth of new research exploring what can be detected on a wearable, small form factor. As a sensing platform, the ears are less susceptible to motion artifacts and are located in close proximity to a number of important anatomical structures including the brain, blood vessels, and facial muscles which reveal a wealth of information. They can be easily reached by the hands and the ear canal itself is affected by mouth, face, and head movements. We have conducted a systematic literature review of 271 earable publications from the ACM and IEEE libraries. These were synthesized into an open-ended taxonomy of 47 different phenomena that can be sensed in, on, or around the ear. Through analysis, we identify 13 fundamental phenomena from which all other phenomena can be derived, and discuss the different sensors and sensing principles used to detect them. We comprehensively review the phenomena in four main areas of (i) physiological monitoring and health, (ii) movement and activity, (iii) interaction, and (iv) authentication and identification. This breadth highlights the potential that earables have to offer as a ubiquitous, general-purpose platform

Sensing with Earables: A Systematic Literature Review and Taxonomy of Phenomena

Earables have emerged as a unique platform for ubiquitous computing by augmenting ear-worn devices with state-of-the-art sensing. This new platform has spurred a wealth of new research exploring what can be detected on a wearable, small form factor. As a sensing platform, the ears are less susceptible to motion artifacts and are located in close proximity to a number of important anatomical structures including the brain, blood vessels, and facial muscles which reveal a wealth of information. They can be easily reached by the hands and the ear canal itself is affected by mouth, face, and head movements. We have conducted a systematic literature review of 271 earable publications from the ACM and IEEE libraries. These were synthesized into an open-ended taxonomy of 47 different phenomena that can be sensed in, on, or around the ear. Through analysis, we identify 13 fundamental phenomena from which all other phenomena can be derived, and discuss the different sensors and sensing principles used to detect them. We comprehensively review the phenomena in four main areas of (i) physiological monitoring and health, (ii) movement and activity, (iii) interaction, and (iv) authentication and identification. This breadth highlights the potential that earables have to offer as a ubiquitous, general-purpose platform