wearable electronics

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.

MIT engineers have produced the world's longest flexible fiber battery. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery is only a few hundred microns thick but 140 meters long, and according to the team could be produced at lengths far greater than that.

An experimental new material could help rehabilitate the injured and allow the nonspeaking to "speak," among other potential uses. It's also highly elastic, electrically conductive and self-healing – and it's known as CareGum.

Nicotine is one of the more harmful compounds in electronic cigarette vapor, so non-vapers should avoid breathing it in whenever possible. A new skin-worn sensor could help, by monitoring airborne nicotine levels in the wearer's immediate vicinity.

Currently, if you wish to track the electrical activity of someone's muscles, you have stick electrodes onto their skin. An experimental new technology, however, simply utilizes conductive fabric that's incorporated into washable pieces of clothing.

Although hearing aids do make life easier for many people, their limited battery life can be problematic. Scientists have set about addressing that shortcoming, by designing a hearing aid that requires no batteries.

Swimming is one of those sports in which stopping to check a smartwatch can be quite disruptive. Because of this, we've recently seen a number of performance-tracking goggles. One of the newest, known as Holoswim, is now on Kickstarter.

Although there are now a number of devices that generate electricity via movement, most of them only work in dry environments. A new one, however, also works underwater – meaning it could be used in implants, or wearables that get exposed to sweat.

Rice University researchers have produced a "smart" shirt that uses interwoven carbon nanotube fibers to provide steady electrical contact with the skin, allowing for ongoing gathering of data on heart activity.