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Tag Archives: University of Exeter
Electronics begone! Enter: the light-based brainlike computing chip
At this point, it's possible I'm wrong but I think this is the first 'memristor' type device (also called a neuromorphic chip) based on light rather than electronics that I've featured here on this blog. In other words, it's not, technically speaking, a memristor but it does have the same properties so it is a neuromorphic chip.
Caption: The optical microchips that the researchers are working on developing are about the size of a one-cent piece. Credit: WWU Muenster – Peter Leßmann
A May 8, 2019 news item on Nanowerk announces this new approach to neuromorphic hardware (Note: A link has been removed),
Researchers from the Universities of Münster (Germany), Oxford and Exeter (both UK) have succeeded in developing a piece of hardware which could pave the way for creating computers which resemble the human brain.
The scientists produced a chip containing a network of artificial neurons that works with light and can imitate the behaviour of neurons and their synapses. The network is able to "learn" information and use this as a basis for computing and recognizing patterns. As the system functions solely with light and not with electrons, it can process data many times faster than traditional systems. …
A May 8, 2019 University of Münster press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, reveals the full story,
A technology that functions like a brain? In these times of artificial intelligence, this no longer seems so far-fetched – for example, when a mobile phone can recognise faces or languages. With more complex applications, however, computers still quickly come up against their own limitations. One of the reasons for this is that a computer traditionally has separate memory and processor units – the consequence of which is that all data have to be sent back and forth between the two. In this respect, the human brain is way ahead of even the most modern computers because it processes and stores information in the same place – in the synapses, or connections between neurons, of which there are a million-billion in the brain. An international team of researchers from the Universities of Münster (Germany), Oxford and Exeter (both UK) have now succeeded in developing a piece of hardware which could pave the way for creating computers which resemble the human brain. The scientists managed to produce a chip containing a network of artificial neurons that works with light and can imitate the behaviour of neurons and their synapses.
The researchers were able to demonstrate, that such an optical neurosynaptic network is able to "learn" information and use this as a basis for computing and recognizing patterns – just as a brain can. As the system functions solely with light and not with traditional electrons, it can process data many times faster. "This integrated photonic system is an experimental milestone," says Prof. Wolfram Pernice from Münster University and lead partner in the study. "The approach could be used later in many different fields for evaluating patterns in large quantities of data, for example in medical diagnoses." The study is published in the latest issue of the "Nature" journal.
The story in detail – background and method used
Most of the existing approaches relating to so-called neuromorphic networks are based on electronics, whereas optical systems – in which photons, i.e. light particles, are used – are still in their infancy. The principle which the German and British scientists have now presented works as follows: optical waveguides that can transmit light and can be fabricated into optical microchips are integrated with so-called phase-change materials – which are already found today on storage media such as re-writable DVDs. These phase-change materials are characterised by the fact that they change their optical properties dramatically, depending on whether they are crystalline – when their atoms arrange themselves in a regular fashion – or amorphous – when their atoms organise themselves in an irregular fashion. This phase-change can be triggered by light if a laser heats the material up. "Because the material reacts so strongly, and changes its properties dramatically, it is highly suitable for imitating synapses and the transfer of impulses between two neurons," says lead author Johannes Feldmann, who carried out many of the experiments as part of his PhD thesis at the Münster University.
In their study, the scientists succeeded for the first time in merging many nanostructured phase-change materials into one neurosynaptic network. The researchers developed a chip with four artificial neurons and a total of 60 synapses. The structure of the chip – consisting of different layers – was based on the so-called wavelength division multiplex technology, which is a process in which light is transmitted on different channels within the optical nanocircuit.
In order to test the extent to which the system is able to recognise patterns, the researchers "fed" it with information in the form of light pulses, using two different algorithms of machine learning. In this process, an artificial system "learns" from examples and can, ultimately, generalise them. In the case of the two algorithms used – both in so-called supervised and in unsupervised learning – the artificial network was ultimately able, on the basis of given light patterns, to recognise a pattern being sought – one of which was four consecutive letters.
"Our system has enabled us to take an important step towards creating computer hardware which behaves similarly to neurons and synapses in the brain and which is also able to work on real-world tasks," says Wolfram Pernice. "By working with photons instead of electrons we can exploit to the full the known potential of optical technologies – not only in order to transfer data, as has been the case so far, but also in order to process and store them in one place," adds co-author Prof. Harish Bhaskaran from the University of Oxford.
A very specific example is that with the aid of such hardware cancer cells could be identified automatically. Further work will need to be done, however, before such applications become reality. The researchers need to increase the number of artificial neurons and synapses and increase the depth of neural networks. This can be done, for example, with optical chips manufactured using silicon technology. "This step is to be taken in the EU joint project 'Fun-COMP' by using foundry processing for the production of nanochips," says co-author and leader of the Fun-COMP project, Prof. C. David Wright from the University of Exeter.
Here's a link to and a citation for the paper,
All-optical spiking neurosynaptic networks with self-learning capabilities by J. Feldmann, N. Youngblood, C. D. Wright, H. Bhaskaran & W. H. P. Pernice. Nature volume 569, pages208–214 (2019) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1157-8 Issue Date: 09 May 2019
This paper is behind a paywall.
For the curious, I found a little more information about Fun-COMP (functionally-scaled computer technology). It's a European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 project coordinated through the University of Exeter. For information with details such as the total cost, contribution from the EC, the list of partnerships and more there is the Fun-COMP webpage on fabiodisconzi.com.
This entry was posted in robots and tagged All-optical spiking neurosynaptic networks with self-learning capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI), artificial neurons, artificial synapses, C. D. Wright, C. David Wright, European Commission (EC), Fun-COMP (functionally-scaled computer technology), H. Bhaskaran, Harish Bhaskaran., Horizon 2020, J. Feldmann, memristors, N. Youngblood, nanochips, neuromorphic networks, optical neurosynaptic network, photons, University of Exeter, University of Münster, University of Oxford, W. H. P. Pernice, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wolfram Pernice on September 18, 2019 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Can a true believer switch sides on the GM (specifically, genetically modified foods) debate and influence others?
They're usually called apostates; those people who switch from one belief to its opposite. In this case, an advocate who opposed genetically modified foods switched sides as a January 17, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily explains,
What happens when a strong advocate for one side of a controversial issue in science publicly announces that he or she now believes the opposite? Does the message affect the views of those who witness it — and if so, how?
Although past research suggests that such "conversion messages" may be an effective persuasion technique, the actual effect of such messages has been unknown.
A January 17, 2019 Annenberg Public Policy Center (University of Pennsylvania, US) news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, notes that the 'conversion' can have an effect in certain circumstances,
Now, a new study from researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that such a conversion message can influence public attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) foods.
Using video of a talk by the British environmentalist Mark Lynas about his transformation from an opponent of GM crops to an advocate, researchers found that Lynas' conversion narrative had a greater impact on the attitudes of people who viewed it than a direct advocacy message.
"People exposed to the conversion message rather than a simple pro-GM message had a more favorable attitude toward GM foods," said Benjamin A. Lyons, a former postdoctoral fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. "The two-sided nature of the conversion message – presenting old beliefs and then refuting them – was more effective than a straightforward argument in favor of GM crops."
"Conversion messages and attitude change: Strong arguments, not costly signals" was published in January 2019 in the journal Public Understanding of Science. The study was done by Lyons, now a research fellow at the University of Exeter, U.K., with two other former APPC postdoctoral fellows – Ariel Hasell, a research fellow at the University of Michigan, and Meghnaa Tallapragada, an assistant professor of strategic communication at Clemson University – and APPC Director Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
How the study worked In 2013, Lynas, a journalist and activist who had opposed GM crops, spoke at the Oxford Farming Conference about his change of belief. In the current experiment, APPC researchers used video excerpts from Lynas' talk to more than 650 U.S. adult participants, who competed a survey about it.
The respondents each were shown one of three video clips: 1) Lynas explaining the benefits of GM crops; 2) Lynas discussing his prior beliefs and changing his mind about GM crops; and 3) Lynas explaining why his beliefs changed, including the realization that the anti-GM movement he helped to lead was a form of anti-science environmentalism.
The researchers found that both forms of the conversion message (2 and 3) were more influential than the simple advocacy message. There was no difference in impact between the basic conversion message and the more elaborate one.
Measuring how the conversion narrative worked, the researchers found that it enhanced Lynas' "perceived argument strength," rather than bolstering his personal credibility, which they found an important distinction. The fact that argument strength served as a mediator on GM attitudes supports the idea that "the unexpected shift in the position of the speaker … prompted central or systematic processing of the argument," which, in turn, implies a more durable change in attitudes.
GM foods: A low-profile issue on which minds may be changed? Unlike other controversial issues in science such as evolution or climate change, Americans' views on GM crops do not seem to be related to political ideology or religious beliefs. Nor are Americans especially knowledgeable about GM foods – one prior study found that only 43 percent of Americans know that GM foods are available for human consumption and only 26 percent believe that they have eaten food that was genetically modified. In another earlier study, 71 percent of Americans say they have heard little or nothing about GM foods – yet 39 percent think GM foods present a risk to human health.
Given that many Americans' views on genetically modified foods aren't yet fixed by group values and motivated reasoning [emphasis mine], their minds may be more easily changeable on this issue. Lyons said it may be possible to present scientific evidence through a conversion narrative to people on such low-knowledge, lower-profile issues and affect their views.
"After completing this study, I'm more optimistic about our ability to change minds on the issues that haven't been totally polluted by ideology," Lyons said.
The researchers cautioned that the findings may not extend beyond an American audience, and said that their audience included many who did not have strong pro- or anti-GM attitudes. They said conversion messaging should be tested with people who do have strong pre-existing views on GM foods. They also noted that this research tested a conversion in only one direction – from anti-GM to pro-GM foods – and said it would be valuable to explore the opposite case.
Conversion messages and attitude change: Strong arguments, not costly signals by Benjamin A. Lyons, Ariel Hasell, Meghnaa Tallapragada, Kathleen Hall Jamieson. Public Understanding of Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662518821017 First Published January 10, 2019
This paper is behind a paywall
This entry was posted in public engagement, public perceptions, science communication and tagged 2013 Oxford Farming Conference, Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC), Ariel Hasell, Benjamin A. Lyons, Clemson University, Conversion messages and attitude change: Strong arguments not costly signals, G&M, genetically modified organism (GMO), genetically modified organisms, genetically modigied food, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Mark Lynas, Meghnaa Tallapragada, University of Exeter, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania on July 24, 2019 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Graphene and smart textiles
Here's one of the more recent efforts to create fibres that are electronic and capable of being woven into a smart textile. (Details about a previous effort can be found at the end of this post.) Now for this one, from a Dec. 3, 2018 news item on ScienceDaily,
The quest to create affordable, durable and mass-produced 'smart textiles' has been given fresh impetus through the use of the wonder material Graphene.
An international team of scientists, led by Professor Monica Craciun from the University of Exeter Engineering department, has pioneered a new technique to create fully electronic fibres that can be incorporated into the production of everyday clothing.
A Dec. 3, 2018 University of Exeter press release (also on EurekAlert), provides more detail about the problems associated with wearable electronics and the solution being offered (Note: A link has been removed),
Currently, wearable electronics are achieved by essentially gluing devices to fabrics, which can mean they are too rigid and susceptible to malfunctioning.
The new research instead integrates the electronic devices into the fabric of the material, by coating electronic fibres with light-weight, durable components that will allow images to be shown directly on the fabric.
The research team believe that the discovery could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices for use in a range of every day applications, as well as health monitoring, such as heart rates and blood pressure, and medical diagnostics.
The international collaborative research, which includes experts from the Centre for Graphene Science at the University of Exeter, the Universities of Aveiro and Lisbon in Portugal, and CenTexBel in Belgium, is published in the scientific journal Flexible Electronics.
Professor Craciun, co-author of the research said: "For truly wearable electronic devices to be achieved, it is vital that the components are able to be incorporated within the material, and not simply added to it.
Dr Elias Torres Alonso, Research Scientist at Graphenea and former PhD student in Professor Craciun's team at Exeter added "This new research opens up the gateway for smart textiles to play a pivotal role in so many fields in the not-too-distant future. By weaving the graphene fibres into the fabric, we have created a new technique to all the full integration of electronics into textiles. The only limits from now are really within our own imagination."
At just one atom thick, graphene is the thinnest substance capable of conducting electricity. It is very flexible and is one of the strongest known materials. The race has been on for scientists and engineers to adapt graphene for the use in wearable electronic devices in recent years.
This new research used existing polypropylene fibres – typically used in a host of commercial applications in the textile industry – to attach the new, graphene-based electronic fibres to create touch-sensor and light-emitting devices.
The new technique means that the fabrics can incorporate truly wearable displays without the need for electrodes, wires of additional materials.
Professor Saverio Russo, co-author and from the University of Exeter Physics department, added: "The incorporation of electronic devices on fabrics is something that scientists have tried to produce for a number of years, and is a truly game-changing advancement for modern technology."
Dr Ana Neves, co-author and also from Exeter's Engineering department added "The key to this new technique is that the textile fibres are flexible, comfortable and light, while being durable enough to cope with the demands of modern life."
In 2015, an international team of scientists, including Professor Craciun, Professor Russo and Dr Ana Neves from the University of Exeter, have pioneered a new technique to embed transparent, flexible graphene electrodes into fibres commonly associated with the textile industry.
Graphene electronic fibres with touch-sensing and light-emitting functionalities for smart textiles by Elias Torres Alonso, Daniela P. Rodrigues, Mukond Khetani, Dong-Wook Shin, Adolfo De Sanctis, Hugo Joulie, Isabel de Schrijver, Anna Baldycheva, Helena Alves, Ana I. S. Neves, Saverio Russo & Monica F. Craciun. Flexible Electronicsvolume 2, Article number: 25 (2018) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-018-0040-2 Published 25 September 2018
This paper is open access.
I have an earlier post about an effort to weave electronics into textiles for soldiers, from an April 5, 2012 posting,
I gather that today's soldier (aka, warfighter) is carrying as many batteries as weapons. Apparently, the average soldier carries a couple of kilos worth of batteries and cables to keep their various pieces of equipment operational. The UK's Centre for Defence Enterprise (part of the Ministry of Defence) has announced that this situation is about to change as a consequence of a recently funded research project with a company called Intelligent Textiles. From Bob Yirka's April 3, 2012 news item for physorg.com,
To get rid of the cables, a company called Intelligent Textiles has come up with a type of yarn that can conduct electricity, which can be woven directly into the fabric of the uniform. And because they allow the uniform itself to become one large conductive unit, the need for multiple batteries can be eliminated as well.
I dug down to find more information about this UK initiative and the Intelligent Textiles company but the trail seems to end in 2015. Still, I did find a Canadian connection (for those who don't know I'm a Canuck) and more about Intelligent Textile's work with the British military in this Sept. 21, 2015 article by Barry Collins for alphr.com (Note: Links have been removed),
A two-person firm operating from a small workshop in Staines-upon-Thames, Intelligent Textiles has recently landed a multimillion-pound deal with the US Department of Defense, and is working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to bring its potentially life-saving technology to British soldiers. Not bad for a company that only a few years ago was selling novelty cushions.
Intelligent Textiles was born in 2002, almost by accident. Asha Peta Thompson, an arts student at Central Saint Martins, had been using textiles to teach children with special needs. That work led to a research grant from Brunel University, where she was part of a team tasked with creating a "talking jacket" for the disabled. The garment was designed to help cerebral palsy sufferers to communicate, by pressing a button on the jacket to say "my name is Peter", for example, instead of having a Stephen Hawking-like communicator in front of them.
Another member of that Brunel team was engineering lecturer Dr Stan Swallow, who was providing the electronics expertise for the project. Pretty soon, the pair realised the prototype waistcoat they were working on wasn't going to work: it was cumbersome, stuffed with wires, and difficult to manufacture. "That's when we had the idea that we could weave tiny mechanical switches into the surface of the fabric," said Thompson.
The conductive weave had several advantages over packing electronics into garments. "It reduces the amount of cables," said Thompson. "It can be worn and it's also washable, so it's more durable. It doesn't break; it can be worn next to the skin; it's soft. It has all the qualities of a piece of fabric, so it's a way of repackaging the electronics in a way that's more user-friendly and more comfortable." The key to Intelligent Textiles' product isn't so much the nature of the raw materials used, but the way they're woven together. "All our patents are in how we weave the fabric," Thompson explained. "We weave two conductive yarns to make a tiny mechanical switch that is perfectly separated or perfectly connected. We can weave an electronic circuit board into the fabric itself."
Intelligent Textiles' big break into the military market came when they met a British textiles firm that was supplying camouflage gear to the Canadian armed forces. [emphasis mine] The firm was attending an exhibition in Canada and invited the Intelligent Textiles duo to join them. "We showed a heated glove and an iPod controller," said Thompson. "The Canadians said 'that's really fantastic, but all we need is power. Do you think you could weave a piece of fabric that distributes power?' We said, 'we're already doing it'."Before long it wasn't only power that the Canadians wanted transmitted through the fabric, but data.
"The problem a soldier faces at the moment is that he's carrying 60 AA batteries [to power all the equipment he carries]," said Thompson. "He doesn't know what state of charge those batteries are at, and they're incredibly heavy. He also has wires and cables running around the system. He has snag hazards – when he's going into a firefight, he can get caught on door handles and branches, so cables are a real no-no."
The Canadians invited the pair to speak at a NATO conference, where they were approached by military brass with more familiar accents. "It was there that we were spotted by the British MoD, who said 'wow, this is a British technology but you're being funded by Canada'," said Thompson. That led to £235,000 of funding from the Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) – the money they needed to develop a fabric wiring system that runs all the way through the soldier's vest, helmet and backpack.
There are more details about the 2015 state of affairs, textiles-wise, in a March 11, 2015 article by Richard Trenholm for CNET.com (Note: A link has been removed),
Speaking at the Wearable Technology Show here, Swallow describes IT [Intelligent Textiles]L as a textile company that "pretends to be a military company…it's funny how you slip into these domains."
One domain where this high-tech fabric has seen frontline action is in the Canadian military's IAV Stryker armoured personnel carrier. ITL developed a full QWERTY keyboard in a single piece of fabric for use in the Stryker, replacing a traditional hardware keyboard that involved 100 components. Multiple components allow for repair, but ITL knits in redundancy so the fabric can "degrade gracefully". The keyboard works the same as the traditional hardware, with the bonus that it's less likely to fall on a soldier's head, and with just one glaring downside: troops can no longer use it as a step for getting in and out of the vehicle.
An armoured car with knitted controls is one thing, but where the technology comes into its own is when used about the person. ITL has worked on vests like the JTAC, a system "for the guys who call down airstrikes" and need "extra computing oomph." Then there's SWIPES, a part of the US military's Nett Warrior system — which uses a chest-mounted Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphone — and British military company BAE's Broadsword system.
ITL is currently working on Spirit, a "truly wearable system" for the US Army and United States Marine Corps. It's designed to be modular, scalable, intuitive and invisible.
While this isn't an ITL product, this video about Broadsword technology from BAE does give you some idea of what wearable technology for soldiers is like,
baesystemsinc
Uploaded on Jul 8, 2014
Broadsword™ delivers groundbreaking technology to the 21st Century warfighter through interconnecting components that inductively transfer power and data via The Spine™, a revolutionary e-textile that can be inserted into any garment. This next-generation soldier system offers enhanced situational awareness when used with the BAE Systems' Q-Warrior® see-through display.
If anyone should have the latest news about Intelligent Textile's efforts, please do share in the comments section.
I do have one other posting about textiles and the military, which is dated May 9, 2012, but while it does reference US efforts it is not directly related to weaving electronics into solder's (warfighter's) gear.
You can find CenTexBel (Belgian Textile Rsearch Centre) here and Graphenea here. Both are mentioned in the University of Exeter press release.
This entry was posted in clothing, electronics, energy, fashion, graphene, military, nanotechnology and tagged (UK) Ministry of Defence (MoD), 2015 Wearable Technology Show, Adolfo De Sanctis, Ana I. S. Neves, Ana Neves, Anna Baldycheva, armoured car with knitted controls, Asha Peta Thompson, BAE, Barry Collins, batteries, Belgian Textile Rsearch Centre, Belgium, blood pressure, Bob Yirka, Britain, British military, British soldiers, Broadsword system, Broadsword™, Canada, Canadian armed forces, Canadian military, CenTexBel, Daniela P. Rodrigues, Dong-Wook Shin, electronic devices, electronic fibre, Elias Torres Alonso, Graphene electronic fibres with touch-sensing and light-emitting functionalities for smart textiles, graphene-based electronic fibres, Graphenea, health monitoring, heart rates, Helena Alves, Hugo Joulie, IAV Stryker armoured personnel carrier, Intelligent Textiles (ITL), Isabel De Schrijver, JTAC, medical diagnostics, Monica Craciun, Monica F. Craciun, Mukond Khetani, Nett Warrior system, Portugal, Q-Warrior®, QWERTY keyboard, Richard Trenholm, Saverio Russo, smart textiles, soldier, Stan Swallow, SWIPES, UK, University of Aveiro, University of Exeter, University of Lisbon, US Army, US Department of Defense, US Marine Corps, US military, vests, warfighters, wearable electronic devices on June 20, 2019 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Colo(u)r-changing bandage for better compression
This is a structural colo(u)r story, from a May 29, 2018 news item on Nanowerk,
Compression therapy is a standard form of treatment for patients who suffer from venous ulcers and other conditions in which veins struggle to return blood from the lower extremities. Compression stockings and bandages, wrapped tightly around the affected limb, can help to stimulate blood flow. But there is currently no clear way to gauge whether a bandage is applying an optimal pressure for a given condition.
Now engineers at MIT {Massachusetts Institute of Technology] have developed pressure-sensing photonic fibers that they have woven into a typical compression bandage. As the bandage is stretched, the fibers change color. Using a color chart, a caregiver can stretch a bandage until it matches the color for a desired pressure, before, say, wrapping it around a patient's leg.
The photonic fibers can then serve as a continuous pressure sensor — if their color changes, caregivers or patients can use the color chart to determine whether and to what degree the bandage needs loosening or tightening.
A May 29, 2018 MIT news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more detail,
"Getting the pressure right is critical in treating many medical conditions including venous ulcers, which affect several hundred thousand patients in the U.S. each year," says Mathias Kolle, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. "These fibers can provide information about the pressure that the bandage exerts. We can design them so that for a specific desired pressure, the fibers reflect an easily distinguished color."
Kolle and his colleagues have published their results in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. Co-authors from MIT include first author Joseph Sandt, Marie Moudio, and Christian Argenti, along with J. Kenji Clark of the Univeristy of Tokyo, James Hardin of the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, Matthew Carty of Brigham and Women's Hospital-Harvard Medical School, and Jennifer Lewis of Harvard University.
The color of the photonic fibers arises not from any intrinsic pigmentation, but from their carefully designed structural configuration. Each fiber is about 10 times the diameter of a human hair. The researchers fabricated the fiber from ultrathin layers of transparent rubber materials, which they rolled up to create a jelly-roll-type structure. Each layer within the roll is only a few hundred nanometers thick.
In this rolled-up configuration, light reflects off each interface between individual layers. With enough layers of consistent thickness, these reflections interact to strengthen some colors in the visible spectrum, for instance red, while diminishing the brightness of other colors. This makes the fiber appear a certain color, depending on the thickness of the layers within the fiber.
"Structural color is really neat, because you can get brighter, stronger colors than with inks or dyes just by using particular arrangements of transparent materials," Sandt says. "These colors persist as long as the structure is maintained."
The fibers' design relies upon an optical phenomenon known as "interference," in which light, reflected from a periodic stack of thin, transparent layers, can produce vibrant colors that depend on the stack's geometric parameters and material composition. Optical interference is what produces colorful swirls in oily puddles and soap bubbles. It's also what gives peacocks and butterflies their dazzling, shifting shades, as their feathers and wings are made from similarly periodic structures.
"My interest has always been in taking interesting structural elements that lie at the origin of nature's most dazzling light manipulation strategies, to try recreating and employing them in useful applications," Kolle says.
A multilayered approach
The team's approach combines known optical design concepts with soft materials, to create dynamic photonic materials.
While a postdoc at Harvard in the group of Professor Joanna Aizenberg, Kolle was inspired by the work of Pete Vukusic, professor of biophotonics at the University of Exeter in the U.K., on Margaritaria nobilis, a tropical plant that produces extremely shiny blue berries. The fruits' skin is made up of cells with a periodic cellulose structure, through which light can reflect to give the fruit its signature metallic blue color.
Together, Kolle and Vukusic sought ways to translate the fruit's photonic architecture into a useful synthetic material. Ultimately, they fashioned multilayered fibers from stretchable materials, and assumed that stretching the fibers would change the individual layers' thicknesses, enabling them to tune the fibers' color. The results of these first efforts were published in Advanced Materials in 2013.
When Kolle joined the MIT faculty in the same year, he and his group, including Sandt, improved on the photonic fiber's design and fabrication. In their current form, the fibers are made from layers of commonly used and widely available transparent rubbers, wrapped around highly stretchable fiber cores. Sandt fabricated each layer using spin-coating, a technique in which a rubber, dissolved into solution, is poured onto a spinning wheel. Excess material is flung off the wheel, leaving a thin, uniform coating, the thickness of which can be determined by the wheel's speed.
For fiber fabrication, Sandt formed these two layers on top of a water-soluble film on a silicon wafer. He then submerged the wafer, with all three layers, in water to dissolve the water-soluble layer, leaving the two rubbery layers floating on the water's surface. Finally, he carefully rolled the two transparent layers around a black rubber fiber, to produce the final colorful photonic fiber.
Reflecting pressure
The team can tune the thickness of the fibers' layers to produce any desired color tuning, using standard optical modeling approaches customized for their fiber design.
"If you want a fiber to go from yellow to green, or blue, we can say, 'This is how we have to lay out the fiber to give us this kind of [color] trajectory,'" Kolle says. "This is powerful because you might want to have something that reflects red to show a dangerously high strain, or green for 'ok.' We have that capacity."
The team fabricated color-changing fibers with a tailored, strain-dependent color variation using the theoretical model, and then stitched them along the length of a conventional compression bandage, which they previously characterized to determine the pressure that the bandage generates when it's stretched by a certain amount.
The team used the relationship between bandage stretch and pressure, and the correlation between fiber color and strain, to draw up a color chart, matching a fiber's color (produced by a certain amount of stretching) to the pressure that is generated by the bandage.
To test the bandage's effectiveness, Sandt and Moudio enlisted over a dozen student volunteers, who worked in pairs to apply three different compression bandages to each other's legs: a plain bandage, a bandage threaded with photonic fibers, and a commercially-available bandage printed with rectangular patterns. This bandage is designed so that when it is applying an optimal pressure, users should see that the rectangles become squares.
Overall, the bandage woven with photonic fibers gave the clearest pressure feedback. Students were able to interpret the color of the fibers, and based on the color chart, apply a corresponding optimal pressure more accurately than either of the other bandages.
The researchers are now looking for ways to scale up the fiber fabrication process. Currently, they are able to make fibers that are several inches long. Ideally, they would like to produce meters or even kilometers of such fibers at a time.
"Currently, the fibers are costly, mostly because of the labor that goes into making them," Kolle says. "The materials themselves are not worth much. If we could reel out kilometers of these fibers with relatively little work, then they would be dirt cheap."
Then, such fibers could be threaded into bandages, along with textiles such as athletic apparel and shoes as color indicators for, say, muscle strain during workouts. Kolle envisions that they may also be used as remotely readable strain gauges for infrastructure and machinery.
"Of course, they could also be a scientific tool that could be used in a broader context, which we want to explore," Kolle says.
Here's what the bandage looks like,
Caption: Engineers at MIT have developed pressure-sensing photonic fibers that they have woven into a typical compression bandage. Credit Courtesy of the researchers
Stretchable Optomechanical Fiber Sensors for Pressure Determination in Compressive Medical Textiles by Joseph D. Sandt, Marie Moudio, J. Kenji Clark, James Hardin, Christian Argenti, Matthew Carty, Jennifer A. Lewis, Mathias Kolle. Advanced Healthcare Materials https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201800293 First published: 29 May 2018
This entry was posted in medicine, nanotechnology and tagged bandage, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Christian Argenti, compression bandages, compression stockings, compression therapy, continuous pressure sensor, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, J. Kenji Clark, James Hardin, Jennifer A. Lewis, Jennifer Lewis, Joanna Aizenberg, Joseph D. Sandt, Joseph Sandt, Margaritaria nobilis, Marie Moudio, Massachusetts Instittue of Technology, Mathias Kolle, Matthew Carty, MIT, Pete Vukusic, photonic materials, pressure-sensing photonic fibers, Stretchable Optomechanical Fiber Sensors for Pressure Determination in Compressive Medical Textiles, structural color, structural colour, UK, Univeristy of Tokyo, University of Exeter, US Air Force Research Laboratory, veins, venous ulcers on November 15, 2018 by Maryse de la Giroday.
'Green' concrete with graphene
It's thrilling and I hope they are able to commercialize this technology which makes concrete 'greener'. From an April 23, 2018 news item on ScienceDaily,
A new greener, stronger and more durable concrete that is made using the wonder-material graphene could revolutionise the construction industry.
Experts from the University of Exeter [UK] have developed a pioneering new technique that uses nanoengineering technology to incorporate graphene into traditional concrete production.
The new composite material, which is more than twice as strong and four times more water resistant than existing concretes, can be used directly by the construction industry on building sites. All of the concrete samples tested are according to British and European standards for construction.
Crucially, the new graphene-reinforced concentre material also drastically reduced the carbon footprint of conventional concrete production methods, making it more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The research team insist the new technique could pave the way for other nanomaterials to be incorporated into concrete, and so further modernise the construction industry worldwide.
I love the image they've included with the press materials (if they hadn't told me I wouldn't know that this is the 'new' concrete; to me, it looks just like the other stuff),
Caption: The new concrete developed using graphene by experts from the University of Exeter (credit: Dimitar Dimov / University of Exeter) Credit: Dimitar Dimov / University of Exeter
An April 23, 2018 University of Exeter press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more details about the work, future applications, and its potential impact,
Professor Monica Craciun, co-author of the paper and from Exeter's engineering department, said: "Our cities face a growing pressure from global challenges on pollution, sustainable urbanization and resilience to catastrophic natural events, amongst others.
"This new composite material is an absolute game-changer in terms of reinforcing traditional concrete to meets these needs. Not only is it stronger and more durable, but it is also more resistant to water, making it uniquely suitable for construction in areas which require maintenance work and are difficult to be accessed .
"Yet perhaps more importantly, by including graphene we can reduce the amount of materials required to make concrete by around 50 per cent — leading to a significant reduction of 446kg/tonne of the carbon emissions.
"This unprecedented range of functionalities and properties uncovered are an important step in encouraging a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly construction industry worldwide."
Previous work on using nanotechnology has concentrated on modifying existing components of cement, one of the main elements of concrete production.
In the innovative new study, the research team has created a new technique that centres on suspending atomically thin graphene in water with high yield and no defects, low cost and compatible with modern, large scale manufacturing requirements.
Dimitar Dimov, the lead author and also from the University of Exeter added: "This ground-breaking research is important as it can be applied to large-scale manufacturing and construction. The industry has to be modernised by incorporating not only off-site manufacturing, but innovative new materials as well.
"Finding greener ways to build is a crucial step forward in reducing carbon emissions around the world and so help protect our environment as much as possible. It is the first step, but a crucial step in the right direction to make a more sustainable construction industry for the future."
Ultrahigh Performance Nanoengineered Graphene–Concrete Composites for Multifunctional Applications by Dimitar Dimov, Iddo Amit, Olivier Gorrie, Matthew D. Barnes, Nicola J. Townsend, Ana I. S. Neves, Freddie Withers, Saverio Russo, and Monica Felicia Craciun. Advanced Functional Materials https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201705183 First published: 23 April 2018
This entry was posted in construction, environment, graphene, nanotechnology and tagged Ana I. S. Neves, Dimitar Dimov, Freddie Withers, graphene-reinforced concentre material, green concrete, Iddo Amit, Matthew D. Barnes, Monica Craciun, Monica Felicia Craciun, Nicola J. Townsend, Olivier Gorrie, reduced carbon footprint, Saverio Russo, sustainable construction industry, UK, Ultrahigh Performance Nanoengineered Graphene–Concrete Composites for Multifunctional Applications, University of Exeter on September 20, 2018 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Cosmopolitanism and the Local in Science and Nature (a three year Canadian project nearing its end date)
Working on a grant from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Cosmopolitanism and the Local in Science and Nature project has been establishing a 'cosmopolitanism' research network that critiques the eurocentric approach so beloved of Canadian academics and has set up nodes across Canada and in India and Southeast Asia.
I first wrote about the project in a Dec. 12, 2014 posting which also featured a job listing. It seems I was there for the beginning and now for the end. For one of the project's blog postings in its final months, they're profiling one of their researchers (Dr. Letitia Meynell, Sept. 6, 2017 posting),
1. What is your current place of research?
I am an associate professor in philosophy at Dalhousie University, cross appointed with gender and women studies.
2. Could you give us some details about your education background?
My 1st degree was in Theater, which I did at York University. I did, however, minor in Philosophy and I have always had a particular interest in philosophy of science. So, my minor was perhaps a little anomalous, comprising courses on philosophy of physics, philosophy of nature, and the philosophy of Karl Popper along with courses on aesthetics and existentialism. After taking a few more courses in philosophy at the University of Calgary, I enrolled there for a Master's degree, writing a thesis on conceptualization, with a view to its role in aesthetics and epistemology. From there I moved to the University of Western Ontario where I brought these three interests together, writing a thesis on the epistemology of pictures in science. Throughout these studies I maintained a keen interest in feminist philosophy, especially the politics of knowledge, and I have always seen my work on pictures in science as fitting into broader feminist commitments.
3. What projects are you currently working on and what are some projects you've worked on in the past?
4. What's one thing you particularly enjoy about working in your field?
5. How do you relate your work to the broader topic of 'cosmopolitanism and the local'?
As feminist philosophers have long realized, having perspectives on a topic that are quite different to your own is incredibly powerful for critically assessing both your own views and those of others. So, for instance, if you want to address the exploitation of nonhuman animals in our society it is incredibly powerful to consider how people from, say, South Asian traditions have thought about the differences, similarities, and relationships between humans and other animals. Keeping non-western perspectives in mind, even as one works in a western philosophical tradition, helps one to be both more rigorous in one's analyses and less dogmatic. Rigor and critical openness are, in my opinion, central virtues of philosophy and, indeed, science.
Dr. Maynell will be speaking at the 'Bridging the Gap: Scientific Imagination Meets Aesthetic Imagination' conference Oct. 5-6, 2017 at the London School of Economics,
On 5–6 October, this 2-day conference aims to connect work on artistic and scientific imagination, and to advance our understanding of the epistemic and heuristic roles that imagination can play.
Why, how, and when do scientists imagine, and what epistemological roles does the imagination play in scientific progress? Over the past few years, many philosophical accounts have emerged that are relevant to these questions. Roman Frigg, Arnon Levy, and Adam Toon have developed theories of scientific models that place imagination at the heart of modelling practice. And James R. Brown, Tamar Gendler, James McAllister, Letitia Meynell, and Nancy Nersessian have developed theories that recognize the indispensable role of the imagination in the performance of thought experiments. On the other hand, philosophers like Michael Weisberg dismiss imagination-based views of scientific modelling as mere "folk ontology", and John D. Norton seems to claim that thought experiments are arguments whose imaginary components are epistemologically irrelevant.
In this conference we turn to aesthetics for help in addressing issues concerning scientific imagination-use. Aesthetics is said to have begun in 1717 with an essay called "The Pleasures of the Imagination" by Joseph Addison, and ever since imagination has been what Michael Polyani called "the cornerstone of aesthetic theory". In recent years Kendall Walton has fruitfully explored the fundamental relevance of imagination for understanding literary, visual and auditory fictions. And many others have been inspired to do the same, including Greg Currie, David Davies, Peter Lamarque, Stein Olsen, and Kathleen Stock.
This conference aims to connect work on artistic and scientific imagination, and to advance our understanding of the epistemic and heuristic roles that imagination can play. Specific topics may include:
What kinds of imagination are involved in science?
What is the relation between scientific imagination and aesthetic imagination?
What are the structure and limits of knowledge and understanding acquired through imagination?
From a methodological point of view, how can aesthetic considerations about imagination play a role in philosophical accounts of scientific reasoning?
What can considerations about scientific imagination contribute to our understanding of aesthetic imagination?
The conference will include eight invited talks and four contributed papers. Two of the four slots for contributed papers are being reserved for graduate students, each of whom will receive a travel bursary of £100.
Margherita Arcangeli (Humboldt University, Berlin)
Andrej Bicanski (Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London)
Gregory Currie (University of York)
Jim Faeder (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine)
Tim de Mey (Erasmus University of Rotterdam)
Laetitia Meynell (Dalhousie University, Canada)
Adam Toon (University of Exeter)
Margot Strohminger (Humboldt University, Berlin)
This event is organised by LSE's Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science and it is co-sponsored by the British Society of Aesthetics, the Mind Association, the Aristotelian Society and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 654034.
I wonder if they'll be rubbing shoulders with Angelina Jolie? She is slated to be teaching there in Fall 2017 according to a May 23, 2016 news item in the Guardian (Note: Links have been removed),
The Hollywood actor and director has been appointed a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, teaching a course on the impact of war on women.
From 2017, Jolie will join the former foreign secretary William Hague as a "professor in practice", the university announced on Monday, as part of a new MSc course on women, peace and security, which LSE says is the first of its kind in the world.
The course, it says, is intended to "[develop] strategies to promote gender equality and enhance women's economic, social and political participation and security", with visiting professors playing an active part in giving lectures, participating in workshops and undertaking their own research.
Getting back to 'Cosmopolitanism', some of the principals organized a summer 2017 event (from a Sept. 6, 2017 posting titled: Summer Events – 25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology),
CosmoLocal partners Lesley Cormack (University of Alberta, Canada), Gordon McOuat (University of King's College, Halifax, Canada), and Dhruv Raina (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) organized a symposium "Cosmopolitanism and the Local in Science and Nature" as part of the 25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology. The conference was held July 23-29, 2017, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The abstract of the CosmoLocal symposium is below, and a pdf version can be found here.
Science, and its associated technologies, is typically viewed as "universal". At the same time we were also assured that science can trace its genealogy to Europe in a period of rising European intellectual and imperial global force, 'going outwards' towards the periphery. As such, it is strikingly parochial. In a kind of sad irony, the 'subaltern' was left to retell that tale as one of centre-universalism dominating a traditionalist periphery. Self-described 'modernity' and 'the west' (two intertwined concepts of recent and mutually self-supporting origin) have erased much of the local engagement and as such represent science as emerging sui generis, moving in one direction. This story is now being challenged within sociology, political theory and history.
… Significantly, scholars who study the history of science in Asia and India have been examining different trajectories for the origin and meaning of science. It is now time for a dialogue between these approaches. Grounding the dialogue is the notion of a "cosmopolitical" science. "Cosmopolitics" is a term borrowed from Kant's notion of perpetual peace and modern civil society, imagining shared political, moral and economic spaces within which trade, politics and reason get conducted. …
The abstract is a little 'high falutin' but I'm glad to see more efforts being made in Canada to understand science and its history as a global affair.
This entry was posted in science, science communication, science philosophy and tagged 25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology, Adam Toon, aesthetics, Andrej Bicanski, Angelina Jolie, Aristotelian Society, Arnon Levy, Brazil. Cosmopolitics, Bridging the Gap: Scientific Imagination Meets Aesthetic Imagination, British Society of Aesthetics, Canada, Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, CosmoLocal, Cosmopolitanism and the Local, Cosmopolitanism and the Local in Science and Nature, Cosmopolitanism and the Local in Science and Nature symposium, Dalhousie University, David Davies, Dhruv Raina, Erasmus University, Germany, Gordon McOuat, Greg Currie, Gregory Currie, Holland, Humboldt University, Immanuel Kant, India, James McAllister, James R. Brown, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jim Faeder, John D. Norton, Joseph Addison, Kathleen Stock, Kendall Walton, Laetitia Meynell, Lesley Cormack, Letitia Meynell, London School of Economics, Margherita Arcangeli, Margot Strohminger, Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement, Michael Polyani, Michael Weisberg, Mind Association, Nancy Nersessian, Netherlands, Peter Lamarque, Roman Frigg, Southeast Asia, SSHRC, Stein Olsen, Tamar Gendler, The Pleasures of the Imagination, Tim de Mey, UCL, UK, University College London, University of Alberta, University of Exeter, University of King's College (Canada), University of Pittsburgh, University of York (UK) on September 26, 2017 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Why Central-American jewel scarab beetles look like pure gold
The ornate Chrysina resplendens beetle has a metallic gold colour. Image courtesy of K Robacker.
I haven't read this yet but I'm willing to bet that the reason Central American jewel scarab beetles look like gold is due to nanoscale structures on their exoskeletons. Let's see if I'm right, eh? From a June 15, 2017 news item on ScienceDaily,
The secrets of why central-American jewel scarab beetles look like they are made from pure gold, has been uncovered by physicists at the University of Exeter.
The ornate beetles, which have a brilliant metallic gold colour, are highly valued by collectors. But until now the reasons behind their golden iridescent hue, have not been fully understood.
University of Exeter physicists specialising in colour and light have done experiments exploring the origin of the scarab beetles' striking metallic golden appearance, showing that the golden beetles have a unique 'optical signature'. The structure of the beetle and its armour uniquely manipulates the way the light is reflected so that it looks like pure gold.
Yes! Keep reading, a June 15, 2017 University of Exeter press release, which originated the news item, describes the work in more detail (Note: Links have been removed),
Professor Pete Vukusic, a physicist specialising in light and colour, led the research which involved experiments and advanced modelling. He found that the golden appearance is due to the high reflectiveness of the beetles' exoskeleton, which also manipulates a property of the light called its polarisation: the orientation of the reflected light wave's oscillations.
The scientists mapped the optical signature of the beetle's Chrysina resplendens' colour, and found it was unusually 'optically-ambidextrous', meaning that it reflects both left-handed and right-handed circularly-polarised light.
Professor Vukusic said: "The brilliant golden colour and distinctive polarised reflection from the scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens sets it completely apart from the hundreds of thousands of other beautiful and brightly coloured animals and plants across the natural world. Its exoskeleton has a bright, golden appearance that reflects both right-handed and left-handed circularly-polarised light simultaneously. This characteristic of Chrysina resplendens appears to be an exceptional and wonderfully specialised characteristic in currently known animals and plants. It will serve as a valuable platform from which bio-inspired optical technologies can spring. "
The golden jewel beetle is prized by collectors because of its resemblance to the precious metal.
Other scarab beetles, valued by ancient cultures such as the Egyptians for use as amulets which were sometimes wrapped in the bandages of mummies, are jewel-like green and blue colours. The vast majority of brightly-coloured beetles tend to be green and do not reflect polarised light. These beetles, in comparison to the brilliant golden colour of Chrysina resplendens, lack much more specialised aspects of their exoskeleton's finely detailed structure.
Dr Ewan Finlayson, research fellow on the project, said: "We were drawn to the study of this jewel scarab not only by its striking metallic golden appearance, but also by its ability to control a less obvious property of the reflected light: the polarisation. We have learned that there is great subtlety and detail to be found in these optical 'signatures' and in the elaborate natural structures that generate them."
The golden jewel scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens, mainly found in the Americas, has evolved an exoskeleton that contains intricate nano-structures that are responsible for its appearance.
The spacing of the repeating layers of the nano-structures [emphasis mine] is found to vary over a specific range through the exoskeleton – a key property that causes the simultaneous reflection of a range of visible colours. It is this fact that explains the very bright reflection as well as the golden hue.
The nano-structured exoskeleton is composed of natural materials including chitin and various proteins. In addition to their brilliant reflectiveness, these structures are remarkable in the way they manipulate the way polarised light is reflected.
Their nanostructures produce circularly-polarised light, where the orientation of the light's oscillations rotate as the light travels. The two possible directions of rotation are referred to as left handed and right handed.
The experiments build on the work of an early American scientist called Michelson [Albert A. Michelson] who, in 1911, looked at the polarised reflection from many different Chrysina beetles, and on the work of Anthony Neville (then at Bristol University) in 1971, who began looking more closely at Chrysina resplendens.
There are around 100 species of Chrysina jewel scarab, which are found exclusively in the New World, mostly in Mexico and Central America. The species Chrysina resplendens is found in Panama and Costa Rica. Chrysina scarabs typically live in mountain forests. The larvae feed on rotting logs of various tree species, while the adults feed on foliage. The larval form lasts for several months to a year, and pupation takes a month or two. After the adult emerges it lives for about a further three months, although this span probably varies between species.
One explanation for the highly-reflective appearance of the beetle exoskeleton is crypsis: the ability of the animal to blend in to its surroundings.
Dr Martin Stevens, Associate Professor of Sensory and Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Exeter and an expert in animal vision, colour change and camouflage, said:
"It is not absolutely clear why these beetles are a bright golden colour, but one option is that it somehow works in camouflage under some light conditions. The shiny golden colour could also change how the beetle is seen as it moves, potentially dazzling a would-be predator. There are many species which are iridescent but jewel beetles are one of the most charismatic and brightly coloured, and their colour might be used in mating. However, it is not clear how other beetles see the gold colour and reflected light. Many small mammals would not be able to distinguish the golden colour from reds, greens, and yellows, but a predatory bird would likely be able to see these colours well."
Optically ambidextrous circularly polarized reflection from the chiral cuticle of the scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens by Ewan D. Finlayson, Luke T. McDonald, Pete Vukusic. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, June 2017 Volume 14, issue 131 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0129 Published 14 June 2017.
This entry was posted in biomimcry, light, nanotechnology and tagged Albert A. Michelson, Anthony Neville, bioinspired, biomimetics, Bristol University, Central American jewel scarab beetle, chitin, Chrysina resplendens, Chrysina resplendens beetle, circularly-polarised light, colour, Costa Rica, crypsis: Martin Stevens, Egyptians, Ewan D. Finlayson, Ewan Finlayson, exoskeleton, jewel-like green and blue scarab beetles, K Robacker, light, Luke T. McDonald, nano-structured exoskeleton, Optically ambidextrous circularly polarized reflection from the chiral cuticle of the scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens, Panama, Pete Vukusic, polarisation, proteins, pure gold, reflects left-handed and right-handed circularly-polarised light, UK, University of Exeter on July 7, 2017 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Gamechanging electronics with new ultrafast, flexible, and transparent electronics
There are two news bits about game-changing electronics, one from the UK and the other from the US.
An April 3, 2017 news item on Azonano announces the possibility of a future golden age of electronics courtesy of the University of Exeter,
Engineering experts from the University of Exeter have come up with a breakthrough way to create the smallest, quickest, highest-capacity memories for transparent and flexible applications that could lead to a future golden age of electronics.
A March 31, 2017 University of Exeter press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, expands on the theme (Note: Links have been removed),
Engineering experts from the University of Exeter have developed innovative new memory using a hybrid of graphene oxide and titanium oxide. Their devices are low cost and eco-friendly to produce, are also perfectly suited for use in flexible electronic devices such as 'bendable' mobile phone, computer and television screens, and even 'intelligent' clothing.
Crucially, these devices may also have the potential to offer a cheaper and more adaptable alternative to 'flash memory', which is currently used in many common devices such as memory cards, graphics cards and USB computer drives.
The research team insist that these innovative new devices have the potential to revolutionise not only how data is stored, but also take flexible electronics to a new age in terms of speed, efficiency and power.
Professor David Wright, an Electronic Engineering expert from the University of Exeter and lead author of the paper said: "Using graphene oxide to produce memory devices has been reported before, but they were typically very large, slow, and aimed at the 'cheap and cheerful' end of the electronics goods market.
"Our hybrid graphene oxide-titanium oxide memory is, in contrast, just 50 nanometres long and 8 nanometres thick and can be written to and read from in less than five nanoseconds – with one nanometre being one billionth of a metre and one nanosecond a billionth of a second."
Professor Craciun, a co-author of the work, added: "Being able to improve data storage is the backbone of tomorrow's knowledge economy, as well as industry on a global scale. Our work offers the opportunity to completely transform graphene-oxide memory technology, and the potential and possibilities it offers."
Multilevel Ultrafast Flexible Nanoscale Nonvolatile Hybrid Graphene Oxide–Titanium Oxide Memories by V. Karthik Nagareddy, Matthew D. Barnes, Federico Zipoli, Khue T. Lai, Arseny M. Alexeev, Monica Felicia Craciun, and C. David Wright. ACS Nano, 2017, 11 (3), pp 3010–3021 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b08668 Publication Date (Web): February 21, 2017
This paper appears to be open access.
Researchers from Stanford University have developed flexible, biodegradable electronics.
A newly developed flexible, biodegradable semiconductor developed by Stanford engineers shown on a human hair. (Image credit: Bao lab)
A human hair? That's amazing and this May 3, 2017 news item on Nanowerk reveals more,
As electronics become increasingly pervasive in our lives – from smart phones to wearable sensors – so too does the ever rising amount of electronic waste they create. A United Nations Environment Program report found that almost 50 million tons of electronic waste were thrown out in 2017–more than 20 percent higher than waste in 2015.
Troubled by this mounting waste, Stanford engineer Zhenan Bao and her team are rethinking electronics. "In my group, we have been trying to mimic the function of human skin to think about how to develop future electronic devices," Bao said. She described how skin is stretchable, self-healable and also biodegradable – an attractive list of characteristics for electronics. "We have achieved the first two [flexible and self-healing], so the biodegradability was something we wanted to tackle."
The team created a flexible electronic device that can easily degrade just by adding a weak acid like vinegar. The results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ("Biocompatible and totally disintegrable semiconducting polymer for ultrathin and ultralightweight transient electronics").
"This is the first example of a semiconductive polymer that can decompose," said lead author Ting Lei, a postdoctoral fellow working with Bao.
A May 1, 2017 Stanford University news release by Sarah Derouin, which originated the news item, provides more detail,
In addition to the polymer – essentially a flexible, conductive plastic – the team developed a degradable electronic circuit and a new biodegradable substrate material for mounting the electrical components. This substrate supports the electrical components, flexing and molding to rough and smooth surfaces alike. When the electronic device is no longer needed, the whole thing can biodegrade into nontoxic components.
Biodegradable bits
Bao, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science and engineering, had previously created a stretchable electrode modeled on human skin. That material could bend and twist in a way that could allow it to interface with the skin or brain, but it couldn't degrade. That limited its application for implantable devices and – important to Bao – contributed to waste.
The flexible semiconductor can adhere to smooth or rough surfaces and biodegrade to nontoxic products. (Image credit: Bao lab)
Bao said that creating a robust material that is both a good electrical conductor and biodegradable was a challenge, considering traditional polymer chemistry. "We have been trying to think how we can achieve both great electronic property but also have the biodegradability," Bao said.
Eventually, the team found that by tweaking the chemical structure of the flexible material it would break apart under mild stressors. "We came up with an idea of making these molecules using a special type of chemical linkage that can retain the ability for the electron to smoothly transport along the molecule," Bao said. "But also this chemical bond is sensitive to weak acid – even weaker than pure vinegar." The result was a material that could carry an electronic signal but break down without requiring extreme measures.
In addition to the biodegradable polymer, the team developed a new type of electrical component and a substrate material that attaches to the entire electronic component. Electronic components are usually made of gold. But for this device, the researchers crafted components from iron. Bao noted that iron is a very environmentally friendly product and is nontoxic to humans.
The researchers created the substrate, which carries the electronic circuit and the polymer, from cellulose. Cellulose is the same substance that makes up paper. But unlike paper, the team altered cellulose fibers so the "paper" is transparent and flexible, while still breaking down easily. The thin film substrate allows the electronics to be worn on the skin or even implanted inside the body.
From implants to plants
The combination of a biodegradable conductive polymer and substrate makes the electronic device useful in a plethora of settings – from wearable electronics to large-scale environmental surveys with sensor dusts.
"We envision these soft patches that are very thin and conformable to the skin that can measure blood pressure, glucose value, sweat content," Bao said. A person could wear a specifically designed patch for a day or week, then download the data. According to Bao, this short-term use of disposable electronics seems a perfect fit for a degradable, flexible design.
And it's not just for skin surveys: the biodegradable substrate, polymers and iron electrodes make the entire component compatible with insertion into the human body. The polymer breaks down to product concentrations much lower than the published acceptable levels found in drinking water. Although the polymer was found to be biocompatible, Bao said that more studies would need to be done before implants are a regular occurrence.
Biodegradable electronics have the potential to go far beyond collecting heart disease and glucose data. These components could be used in places where surveys cover large areas in remote locations. Lei described a research scenario where biodegradable electronics are dropped by airplane over a forest to survey the landscape. "It's a very large area and very hard for people to spread the sensors," he said. "Also, if you spread the sensors, it's very hard to gather them back. You don't want to contaminate the environment so we need something that can be decomposed." Instead of plastic littering the forest floor, the sensors would biodegrade away.
As the number of electronics increase, biodegradability will become more important. Lei is excited by their advancements and wants to keep improving performance of biodegradable electronics. "We currently have computers and cell phones and we generate millions and billions of cell phones, and it's hard to decompose," he said. "We hope we can develop some materials that can be decomposed so there is less waste."
Other authors on the study include Ming Guan, Jia Liu, Hung-Cheng Lin, Raphael Pfattner, Leo Shaw, Allister McGuire, and Jeffrey Tok of Stanford University; Tsung-Ching Huang of Hewlett Packard Enterprise; and Lei-Lai Shao and Kwang-Ting Cheng of University of California, Santa Barbara.
The research was funded by the Air Force Office for Scientific Research; BASF; Marie Curie Cofund; Beatriu de Pinós fellowship; and the Kodak Graduate Fellowship.
Here's a link to and a citation for the team's latest paper,
Biocompatible and totally disintegrable semiconducting polymer for ultrathin and ultralightweight transient electronics by Ting Lei, Ming Guan, Jia Liu, Hung-Cheng Lin, Raphael Pfattner, Leo Shaw, Allister F. McGuire, Tsung-Ching Huang, Leilai Shao, Kwang-Ting Cheng, Jeffrey B.-H. Tok, and Zhenan Bao. PNAS 2017 doi: 10.1073/pnas.1701478114 published ahead of print May 1, 2017
The mention of cellulose in the second item piqued my interest so I checked to see if they'd used nanocellulose. No, they did not. Microcrystalline cellulose powder was used to constitute a cellulose film but they found a way to render this film at the nanoscale. From the Stanford paper (Note: Links have been removed),
… Moreover, cellulose films have been previously used as biodegradable substrates in electronics (28⇓–30). However, these cellulose films are typically made with thicknesses well over 10 μm and thus cannot be used to fabricate ultrathin electronics with substrate thicknesses below 1–2 μm (7, 18, 19). To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on ultrathin (1–2 μm) biodegradable substrates for electronics. Thus, to realize them, we subsequently developed a method described herein to obtain ultrathin (800 nm) cellulose films (Fig. 1B and SI Appendix, Fig. S8). First, microcrystalline cellulose powders were dissolved in LiCl/N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and reacted with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) (31, 32), providing trimethylsilyl-functionalized cellulose (TMSC) (Fig. 1B). To fabricate films or devices, TMSC in chlorobenzene (CB) (70 mg/mL) was spin-coated on a thin dextran sacrificial layer. The TMSC film was measured to be 1.2 μm. After hydrolyzing the film in 95% acetic acid vapor for 2 h, the trimethylsilyl groups were removed, giving a 400-nm-thick cellulose film. The film thickness significantly decreased to one-third of the original film thickness, largely due to the removal of the bulky trimethylsilyl groups. The hydrolyzed cellulose film is insoluble in most organic solvents, for example, toluene, THF, chloroform, CB, and water. Thus, we can sequentially repeat the above steps to obtain an 800-nm-thick film, which is robust enough for further device fabrication and peel-off. By soaking the device in water, the dextran layer is dissolved, starting from the edges of the device to the center. This process ultimately releases the ultrathin substrate and leaves it floating on water surface (Fig. 3A, Inset).
Finally, I don't have any grand thoughts; it's just interesting to see different approaches to flexible electronics.
This entry was posted in clothing, electronics, graphene, nanotechnology and tagged a biodegradable substrate, Air Force Office for Scientific Research; BASF; Marie Curie Cofund; Beatriu de Pinós fellowship; Kodak Graduate Fellowship, Allister F. McGuire, Allister McGuire, Arseny M. Alexeev, bendable electronics, Biocompatible and totally disintegrable semiconducting polymer for ultrathin and ultralightweight transient electronics, biodegradable, C. David Wright, cellulose, cellulose fibers, cellulose nanofilm, data storage, David Wright, degradable electronic circuit, electronic waste, Federico Zipoli, flexible conductive plastic, flexible electronics, foldable electronics, graphene oxide, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Labs, human skin, Hung-Cheng Lin, hybrid graphene oxide-titanium oxide memory, intelligent clothing, Jeffrey B.-H. Tok, Jeffrey Tok, Jia Liu, Khue T. Lai, Kwang-Ting Cheng, Lei-Lai Shao, Leilai Shao, Leo Shaw, Matthew D. Barnes, memory devices, Ming Guan, Monica Felicia Craciun, Multilevel Ultrafast Flexible Nanoscale Nonvolatile Hybrid Graphene Oxide–Titanium Oxide Memories, Raphael Pfattner, Sarah Derouin, self-healable, Stanford University, stretchable, stretchable electronics, Ting Lei, titanium oxide, transparent electronics, Tsung-Ching Huang, UK, United Nations Environment Program, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Exeter, V. Karthik Nagareddy, vinegar, Zhenan Bao on May 3, 2017 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Science literacy, science advice, the US Supreme Court, and Britain's House of Commons
This 'think' piece is going to cover a fair bit of ground including science literacy in the general public and in the US Supreme Court, and what that might mean for science advice and UK Members of Parliament (MPs).
Science literacy generally and in the US Supreme Court
A science literacy report for the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), due sometime from early to mid 2017, is being crafted with an eye to capturing a different perspective according to a March 24, 2016 University of Wisconsin-Madison news release by Terry Dewitt,
What does it mean to be science literate? How science literate is the American public? How do we stack up against other countries? What are the civic implications of a public with limited knowledge of science and how it works? How is science literacy measured?
These and other questions are under the microscope of a 12-member National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel — including University of Wisconsin—Madison Life Sciences Communication Professor Dominique Brossard and School of Education Professor Noah Feinstein — charged with sorting through the existing data on American science and health literacy and exploring the association between knowledge of science and public perception of and support for science.
The committee — composed of educators, scientists, physicians and social scientists — will take a hard look at the existing data on the state of U.S. science literacy, the questions asked, and the methods used to measure what Americans know and don't know about science and how that knowledge has changed over time. Critically for science, the panel will explore whether a lack of science literacy is associated with decreased public support for science or research.
Historically, policymakers and leaders in the scientific community have fretted over a perceived lack of knowledge among Americans about science and how it works. A prevailing fear is that an American public unequipped to come to terms with modern science will ultimately have serious economic, security and civic consequences, especially when it comes to addressing complex and nuanced issues like climate change, antibiotic resistance, emerging diseases, environment and energy choices.
While the prevailing wisdom, inspired by past studies, is that Americans don't stack up well in terms of understanding science, Brossard is not so convinced. Much depends on what kinds of questions are asked, how they are asked, and how the data is analyzed.
It is very easy, she argues, to do bad social science and past studies may have measured the wrong things or otherwise created a perception about the state of U.S. science literacy that may or may not be true.
"How do you conceptualize scientific literacy? What do people need to know? Some argue that scientific literacy may be as simple as an understanding of how science works, the nature of science, [emphasis mine]" Brossard explains. "For others it may be a kind of 'civic science literacy,' where people have enough knowledge to be informed and make good decisions in a civics context."
Science literacy may not be just for the public, it would seem that US Supreme Court judges may not have a basic understanding of how science works. David Bruggeman's March 24, 2016 posting (on his Pasco Phronesis blog) describes a then current case before the Supreme Court (Justice Antonin Scalia has since died), Note: Links have been removed,
It's a case concerning aspects of the University of Texas admissions process for undergraduates and the case is seen as a possible means of restricting race-based considerations for admission. While I think the arguments in the case will likely revolve around factors far removed from science and or technology, there were comments raised by two Justices that struck a nerve with many scientists and engineers.
Both Justice Antonin Scalia and Chief Justice John Roberts raised questions about the validity of having diversity where science and scientists are concerned [emphasis mine]. Justice Scalia seemed to imply that diversity wasn't esential for the University of Texas as most African-American scientists didn't come from schools at the level of the University of Texas (considered the best university in Texas). Chief Justice Roberts was a bit more plain about not understanding the benefits of diversity. He stated, "What unique perspective does a black student bring to a class in physics?"
To that end, Dr. S. James Gates, theoretical physicist at the University of Maryland, and member of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (and commercial actor) has an editorial in the March 25 [2016] issue of Science explaining that the value of having diversity in science does not accrue *just* to those who are underrepresented.
Dr. Gates relates his personal experience as a researcher and teacher of how people's background inform their practice of science, and that two different people may use the same scientific method, but think about the problem differently.
I'm guessing that both Scalia and Roberts and possibly others believe that science is the discovery and accumulation of facts. In this worldview science facts such as gravity are waiting for discovery and formulation into a 'law'. They do not recognize that most science is a collection of beliefs and may be influenced by personal beliefs. For example, we believe we've proved the existence of the Higgs boson but no one associated with the research has ever stated unequivocally that it exists.
For judges who are under the impression that scientific facts are out there somewhere waiting to be discovered diversity must seem irrelevant. It is not. Who you are affects the questions you ask and how you approach science. The easiest example is to look at how women were viewed when they were subjects in medical research. The fact that women's physiology is significantly different (and not just in child-bearing ways) was never considered relevant when reporting results. Today, researchers consider not only gender, but age (to some extent), ethnicity, and more when examining results. It's still not a perfect but it was a step forward.
So when Brossard included "… an understanding of how science works, the nature of science …" as an aspect of science literacy, the judges seemed to present a good example of how not understanding science can have a major impact on how others live.
I'd almost forgotten this science literacy piece as I'd started the draft some months ago but then I spotted a news item about a science advice/MP 'dating' service in the UK.
Science advice and UK MPs
First, the news, then, the speculation (from a June 6, 2016 news item on ScienceDaily),
MPs have expressed an overwhelming willingness to use a proposed new service to swiftly link them with academics in relevant areas to help ensure policy is based on the latest evidence.
A June 6, 2016 University of Exeter press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail about the proposed service and the research providing the supporting evidence (Note: A link has been removed),
The government is pursuing a drive towards evidence-based policy, yet policy makers still struggle to incorporate evidence into their decisions. One reason for this is limited easy access to the latest research findings or to academic experts who can respond to questions about evidence quickly.
Researchers at Cardiff University, the University of Exeter and University College London have today published results of the largest study to date reporting MPs' attitudes to evidence in policy making and their reactions to a proposed Evidence Information Service (EIS) – a rapid match-making advisory service that would work alongside existing systems to put MPs in touch with relevant academic experts.
Dr Natalia Lawrence, of the University of Exeter, said: "It's clear from our study that politicians want to ensure their decisions incorporate the most reliable evidence, but it can sometimes be very difficult for them to know how to access the latest research findings. This new matchmaking service could be a quick and easy way for them to seek advice from cutting-edge researchers and to check their understanding and facts. It could provide a useful complement to existing highly-valued information services."
The research, published today in the journal Evidence and Policy, reports the findings of a national consultation exercise between politicians and the public. The researchers recruited members of the public to interview their local parliamentary representative. In total 86, politicians were contacted with 56 interviews completed. The MPs indicated an overwhelming willingness to use a service such as the EIS, with 85% supporting the idea, but noted a number of potential reservations related to the logistics of the EIS such as response time and familiarity with the service. Yet, the MPs indicated that their logistical reservations could be overcome by accessing the EIS via existing highly-valued parliamentary information services such as those provided by the House of Commons and Lords Libraries. Furthermore prior to rolling out the EIS on a nationwide basis it would first need to be piloted.
Developing the proposed EIS in line with feedback from this consultation of MPs would offer the potential to provide policy makers with rapid, reliable and confidential evidence from willing volunteers from the research community.
Professor Chris Chambers, of Cardiff University, said: "The government has given a robust steer that MPs need to link in more with academics to ensure decisions shaping the future of the country are evidence-based. It's heartening to see that there is a will to adopt this system and we now need to move into a phase of developing a service that is both simple and effective to meet this need."
The next steps for the project are parallel consultations of academics and members of the public and a pilot of the EIS, using funding from GW4 alliance of universities, made up of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter.
What this study shows:
• The consultation shows that politicians recognise the importance of evidence-based policy making and agree on the need for an easier and more direct linkage between academic experts and policy makers.
• Politicians would welcome the creation of the EIS as a provider of rapid, reliable and confidential evidence.
What this study does not show:
• This study does not show how academics would provide evidence. This was a small-scale study which consulted politicians and has not attempted to give voice to the academic community.
• This study does not detail the mechanism of an operational EIS. Instead it indicates the need for a service such as the EIS and suggests ways in which the EIS can be operationalized.
Service as a new platform for supporting evidence-based policy: a consultation of UK parliamentarians by Natalia Lawrence, Jemma Chambers, Sinead Morrison, Sven Bestmann, Gerard O'Grady, Christopher Chambers, Andrew Kythreotis. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/174426416X14643531912169 Appeared or available online: June 6, 2016
This paper is behind a paywall open access. *Corrected June 17, 2016.*
It's an interesting idea and I can understand the appeal. However, operationalizing this 'dating' or 'matchmaking' service could prove quite complex. I appreciate the logistics issues but I'm a little more concerned about the MPs' science literacy. Are they going to be like the two US justices who believe that science is the pursuit of immutable facts? What happens if two MPs are matched up with a different scientist and those two scientists didn't agree about what the evidence says. Or, what happens if one scientist is more cautious than the other. There are all kinds of pitfalls. I'm not arguing against the idea but it's going to require a lot of careful consideration.
This entry was posted in science policy and tagged Andrew Kythreotis, Antonin Scalia, Cardiff University, Chris Chambers, Christopher Chambers, Dominique Brossard, Evidence Information Service (EIS), evidence-based policy, Gerard O'Grady, Jemma Chambers, John Roberts, Natalia Lawrence, Noah Feinstein, S. James Gates, science literacy, Service as a new platform for supporting evidence-based policy: a consultation of UK parliamentarians, sinead Morrison, Sven Bestmann, Terry Dewitt, UCL, UK, UK Members of Parliament, University College London, University of Exeter, University of Maryland, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), US Supreme Court on June 16, 2016 by Maryse de la Giroday.
Fully textile-embedded transparent and flexible technology?
There are a lot of research teams jockeying for position in the transparent, flexible electrodes stakes (for anyone unfamiliar with the slang, I'm comparing the competition between various research teams to a horse race). A May 11, 2015 news item on Nanowerk describes work from an international collaboration at the University of Exeter (UK), Note: A link has been removed,
An international team of scientists, including Professor Monica Craciun from the University of Exeter, have pioneered a new technique to embed transparent, flexible graphene electrodes into fibres commonly associated with the textile industry.
The discovery could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players, which are lightweight, durable and easily transportable.
The international collaborative research, which includes experts from the Centre for Graphene Science at the University of Exeter, the Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers, Microsystems and Nanotechnology (INESC-MN) in Lisbon, the Universities of Lisbon and Aveiro in Portugal and the Belgian Textile Research Centre (CenTexBel), is published in the leading scientific journal Scientific Reports ("Transparent conductive graphene textile fibers").
A May 11, 2015 University of Exeter press release (also on EurekAlert*), which originated the news item, describes the current situation regarding transparent and flexible electrodes in textiles and how the research at Exeter improves the situation,
Professor Craciun, co-author of the research said: "This is a pivotal point in the future of wearable electronic devices. The potential has been there for a number of years, and transparent and flexible electrodes are already widely used in plastics and glass, for example. But this is the first example of a textile electrode being truly embedded in a yarn. The possibilities for its use are endless, including textile GPS systems, to biomedical monitoring, personal security or even communication tools for those who are sensory impaired. The only limits are really within our own imagination."
This new research has identified that 'monolayer graphene', which has exceptional electrical, mechanical and optical properties, make it a highly attractive proposition as a transparent electrode for applications in wearable electronics. In this work graphene was created by a growth method called chemical vapour deposition (CVD) onto copper foil, using a state-of-the-art nanoCVD system recently developed by Moorfield.
The collaborative team established a technique to transfer graphene from the copper foils to a polypropylene fibre already commonly used in the textile industry.
Dr Helena Alves who led the research team from INESC-MN and the University of Aveiro said: "The concept of wearable technology is emerging, but so far having fully textile-embedded transparent and flexible technology is currently non-existing. Therefore, the development of processes and engineering for the integration of graphene in textiles would give rise to a new universe of commercial applications. "
Dr Ana Neves, Associate Research Fellow in Prof Craciun's team from Exeter's Engineering Department and former postdoctoral researcher at INESC added: "We are surrounded by fabrics, the carpet floors in our homes or offices, the seats in our cars, and obviously all our garments and clothing accessories. The incorporation of electronic devices on fabrics would certainly be a game-changer in modern technology.
"All electronic devices need wiring, so the first issue to be address in this strategy is the development of conducting textile fibres while keeping the same aspect, comfort and lightness. The methodology that we have developed to prepare transparent and conductive textile fibres by coating them with graphene will now open way to the integration of electronic devices on these textile fibres."
Dr Isabel De Schrijver,an expert of smart textiles from CenTexBel said: "Successful manufacturing of wearable electronics has the potential for a disruptive technology with a wide array of potential new applications. We are very excited about the potential of this breakthrough and look forward to seeing where it can take the electronics industry in the future."
Professor Saverio Russo, co-author and also from the University of Exeter, added: "This breakthrough will also nurture the birth of novel and transformative research directions benefitting a wide range of sectors ranging from defence to health care. "
In 2012 Professor Craciun and Professor Russo, from the University of Exeter's Centre for Graphene Science, discovered GraphExeter – sandwiched molecules of ferric chloride between two graphene layers which makes a whole new system that is the best known transparent material able to conduct electricity. The same team recently discovered that GraphExeter is also more stable than many transparent conductors commonly used by, for example, the display industry.
Electron transport of WS2 transistors in a hexagonal boron nitride dielectric environment by Freddie Withers, Thomas Hardisty Bointon, David Christopher Hudson, Monica Felicia Craciun, & Saverio Russo. Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 4967 doi:10.1038/srep04967 Published 15 May 2014
Did they wait a year to announce the research or is this a second-go-round? In any event, it is an open access paper.
* Added EurekAlert link 1120 hours PDT on May 12, 2015.
This entry was posted in clothing, electronics, graphene, nanotechnology and tagged Belgium, bendable electronics, CenTexBel, David Christopher Hudson, e-textiles, Electron transport of WS2 transistors in a hexagonal boron nitride dielectric environment, flexible electronics, Freddie Withers, GraphExeter, Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers, Isabel De Schrijver, Microsystems and Nanotechnology (INESC-MN), Monica Felicia Craciun, Portugal, Saverio Russo, smart textiles, textiles, Thomas Hardisty Bointon, transparent electronics, UK, University of Aveiro, University of Exeter, University of Lisbon, wearable electronics on May 12, 2015 by Maryse de la Giroday.


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