RESEARCHERS have invented an experimental wearable device that generates power from a user’s bending finger and can create and store memories, in a promising step towards health monitoring and other technologies.
The innovation features a single nanomaterial incorporated into a stretchable casing fitted to a person’s finger. The nanomaterial enabled the device to generate power with the user bending their finger.
The ultra-thin material allows the device to perform memory tasks, as outlined below.
Multifunctional devices normally require several materials in layers, which involves the time-consuming challenge of stacking nanomaterials with high precision.
The team, led by RMIT University and the University of Melbourne along with other Australian and international institutions, made the proof-of-concept device with the rust of a low-temperature liquid metal called bismuth, which is safe and well suited for wearable applications.
Senior lead researcher, Dr Ali Zavabeti, said the invention could be developed to create medical wearables that monitor vital signs, incorporating the researchers’ recent work with a similar material that enabled gas sensing, and memorise personalised data.
The team is keen to collaborate with industry partners to further develop and prototype this invention.