Programmable Smart Fabric Responds to Temperature and Electricity

A new smart material developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo is activated by both heat and electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two different stimuli.

Thermoresponsive Smart Materials

The researchers used water as the solvent and developed an LCST-type thermoresponsive polymer by adding alkaline earth metal ions — which are divalent cations — to polymers and aqueous solutions.

Helmet Made of Magnetic Metamaterials Could Improve Brain Scans

It may look like a bizarre bike helmet, or a piece of equipment found in Doc Brown’s lab in Back to the Future, yet this gadget made of plastic and copper wire is a...

Hybrid Material Enables Next-Gen E-Skin

Researchers have developed three-in-one hybrid material smart skin for the next generation of artificial, electronic skin using a novel process. With 2,000 individual sensors per square millimeter,...

Lead-Free Piezoelectric Materials

Gadolinium-doped cerium oxide could be a promising alternative to certain piezoelectric materials. It is lead-free, which means that it could be employed in biocompatible medical applications. Further...

Lens Offers Tunable Focus

A metasurface lens has been created that uses a piezoelectric thin film to change focal length when a small voltage is applied. Because it is extremely compact and lightweight, the new lens could be useful for...

Nontoxic, Variable-Stiffness Threads Enable Dexterous Cardiac Catheters

Engineers at EPFL and ETH have developed a variable stiffness catheter made of nontoxic threads that can transition between soft and rigid states during surgery. It...

Shape-Shifting Materials Offer Infinite Possibilities

Totimorphic structural materials can achieve any shape.

‘Weeping’ Ceramics Lead to New Shape-Shifting Material

An international team of researchers has discovered a path that could lead to shape-shifting ceramic materials.

Smart Fabric Stiffens on Demand

A new type of chain mail fabric is flexible like cloth but can stiffen on demand.

Batteryless Pacemaker Could Use Heart’s Energy for Power

The cardiac pacemaker of the future could be powered by the heart itself.

Bruisable Artificial Skin Could Help Prosthetics Sense Injuries

An artificial skin attached to a person’s knee develops a purple “bruise” when hit forcefully.

Ultra-Sensitive, Small Optomechanical Ultrasound Sensor

An optomechanical ultrasound sensor on a silicon photonic chip provides unprecedented sensitivity due to an innovative optomechanical waveguide.

E-Health Patches Monitor Pulse and Blood Pressure

The wireless patches power themselves with harvested energy.

Gold Nanoparticles Enable Long-Term Implantable Sensor ‘Tattoo’

The nanogold is implanted under the skin where it reports changes in drug concentrations by changing its color.

Exploring Medical Applications of Ultra-Fine Nitinol Wire

Nitinol also has a unique ability to adapt to extraordinary strains and is compatible with the human body.

Contact Lenses for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Use

By collecting tears, the lenses effectively measure pH and levels of biomarkers.

Wearable Pressure-Sensitive Devices

A gelatin-based hydrogel addresses the problems presented in constructing wearable pressure-sensitive sensors.

Sensing Eye Mask Captures Pulse, Sleep Signals

A new, lightweight eye mask can unobtrusively capture pulse, eye movement, and sleep signals, for example, when worn in an everyday environment.

Smart Fabrics Monitor Body by Changing Color

Researchers have developed biomaterial-based inks that respond to and quantify chemicals released from the body.

Device Improves Performance of Underactive Bladders

Researchers have developed a technology that can monitor bladder volume in real time and can effectively empty a person’s bladder.

Synthetic Material Could Help Heal Injured Tendons and Ligaments

University of Sydney Sydney,
Australia

Researchers from the University of Sydney have collaborated with Columbia University and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg to...

High-Tech Printing May Help Eliminate Painful Shots

Engineers have created tiny needles that mimic parasites that attach to skin and could replace hypodermic needles.

Leading Women in Engineering & Science: Yolita Wildman Nugent, Director, Advanced Soft Systems Integration, Flex

As the founder of the Soft Systems program at Flex, Yolita brings electronics, smart textiles and computation together to create new products, digital experiences and functionalities through fibers and textiles.

Researchers Compare Shape-Memory Alloys

Researchers have compared two copper-based SMAs of the same composition but fabricated differently. After annealing, the samples were cooled at different rates. Then both samples were heated inside...

Process Developed to 3D Print Piezoelectric Materials

The piezoelectric materials that inhabit everything from our cell phones to musical greeting cards may be getting an upgrade thanks to work discussed in the journal Nature Materials....

New ‘Smart’ Material Has Potential Biomedical Applications

Researchers have shown a way to use graphene oxide (GO) to add some backbone to hydrogel materials made from alginate, a natural material derived from seaweed that is currently...

Using LCP-Based Flexible Substrates for Medical Smart Sensor Applications

Medical devices require sensors that are miniaturized, highly reliable and integrated, cost-effective, hermetic, and biocompatible. By combining thin film technology...

Electronic Skin Stretched to New Limits

An electrically conductive hydrogel that takes stretchability, self-healing, and strain sensitivity to new limits outperforms previously reported hydrogels and introduces new functionalities. Smart...