wearable electronics

When someone is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatrists will sometimes have them place themselves in stress-triggering environments. An experimental wearable system has now been shown to make such treatment much more effective.

If someone is at risk of heart failure, it's important to monitor their vital signs on an ongoing basis. An experimental new wearable is designed to do exactly that, and it takes the form of an electronically endowed belt.

Although there already are experimental "telehaptic" systems that allow people to send and receive tactile sensations, they tend to be bulky and awkward. A new one is much slimmer and thus more practical, thanks to the use of piezoelectric materials.

Although many groups are developing power-generating "smart fabrics," the technology is often too complex to be scaled up to commercial use. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of embroidering electrical generators onto regular fabric.

Apple has announced the next-generation Apple Watch Series 8 as well as an upgraded Apple Watch SE, its entry-level wearable. The watches feature new temperature sensing tech, Crash Detection, international roaming and more detailed health tracking.

Wearable electronics could soon be powered by dead microbes. New research out of UMass Amherst has demonstrated a biofilm that generates electricity from sweat, harnessing the corpses of dead bacteria – and it's at least as effective as a battery.

One of the best ways of tracking an infant's neurological development is to observe their movements as they play. A new "smart" jumpsuit is designed to do so automatically, providing consistently accurate data via machine learning technology.

Last year, scientists at Northwestern University announced a transient pacemaker that dissolves when no longer needed. They've now improved the device, and incorporated it into a linked suite of wearable sensors.

Although there are various systems that detect quadriplegics' head movements, most such setups are limited to the control of wheelchairs. Such is not the case, however, with the MagTrack system.

If you were heading off into a wilderness area with no cell coverage, you might worry about how you'd summon help if you got hurt or lost. Well, the O-Boy satellite-connected rescue watch was designed with just such concerns in mind.

It's important for people with conditions such as depression and anxiety to know when they're becoming stressed, so they can initiate coping strategies. An experimental smartwatch could someday warn them, by detecting a stress hormone in their sweat.

Presently, OLED screens are manufactured by trained technicians in large high-tech factories. Now, however, scientists have managed to 3D print a flexible OLED display, paving the way for small businesses to one day be able to do the same thing.