Scientists have invented a device that can track your sleep with little more than an adhesive bandage.
The wearable tech can track a variety of things—including breathing, movement and your heart rate—without any need for batteries, circuits or wires. The device uses an antenna made of metallic ink to track how the skin contracts and stretches and then sends the data to a receiver attached to the person’s pajamas or clothes.
Testing the sleep tracking device
The Stanford University research team that created the device named it BodyNET due to its network of sensors.
For their research, the scientists placed the sensors on a volunteer’s abdomen and wrist in order to track the person’s breathing and pulse. Sensors on the knees and elbows were able to detect when the participant moved.
The first device didn’t have a strong enough signal, so the researchers designed a Bluetooth-enabled system that could send readings to a smartphone or other wireless device. The technology—which uses radiofrequency identification—is similar to what is used in key cards and keyless access systems.
“Our design offers a conformal skin-mimicking interface by removing all direct contacts between rigid components and the human body,” the team explains in the abstract.
The future of the device
The team believes the technology can be used not only to track sleep but also heart conditions. The researchers are also working on a version that can detect temperature and sweat.
“We think, one day, it will be possible to create a full-body skin sensor array to collect physiological data without interfering with a person’s normal behavior,” says lead researcher Professor Zhenan Bao.
The study and a more detailed description of how the wearable tech device works was published in the journal Nature Electronics with the title, “A wireless body area sensor network based on stretchable passive tags.”
