Electronic Skin

New era of smart technology will see the introduction of electronic skin or e-skin.

20:26 26 March 2017

New ultra thin and flexible wearable electronic skin devices designed to measure anatomical activities are expected to grow in popularity due to the aging population and the growing number of chronic diseases that require continual monitoring. The availability of huge funding as well as considerable advances in microelectronics and the Internet of Things are expected to further boost this growth.

 

Frost & Sullivan’s Tech Vision Partnership Service programs expect that e-skin technology will replace bulky testing and medical diagnostic services in just a few years time. It also expects this new technology to power new applications such as smart touch displays and smart lighting.

 

Frost & Sullivan Tech Vision Research Analyst, Varun Babu said: “Emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, near field communication, advanced materials and fabrication will energize the E-skin market. This technology is expected to mature rapidly in the next five years, and achieve mass scale manufacturing and deployment in various application areas.”

 

However, despite growing demand and huge funding, the technology is expected to face various challenges that relate to the integration of sensors into the human body as well as data processing. Hurdles that need to be overcome include the complexity of this technology, cost pressures and medical regulatory norms.