Samsung Electronic Skin Display Heartbeat
Samsung is one of the few companies at the forefront of sliding and folding display technology. However, the South Korean tech giant does not only want to be at the forefront but at the top of the flexible display technology. The researchers of this company have been working on something spectacular – a stretchable display.
Samsung Reveals the First Stretchable OLED Display
In July 2021, Samsung revealed an electronic skin display heartbeat. It is a stretchable OLED display that serves as a heart rate sensor. The stretchable OLED display is a wrist-mounted device, and it is a combination of an OLED screen and photoplethysmography heart rate sensors to offer real-time heartbeat monitoring.
According to Samsung, the stretchable OLED display can stretch up to 30 percent. The tech giant referred to it as an early-stage tech, and it provides more accurate heart rate measurements than most of the wearables on the market today.
Samsung believes that this innovation will clear the path for the commercialisation of stretchable devices with a high-resolution, large screen. The electronic giant is not just limited to releasing the next-gen foldable technology and smartphones in the market. The tech space is saturated with many companies that have been testing their products due to the increase in public demand.
According to the research team, the device can be stretched 1,000 times without any issues or damages. In addition to being super stretchy, the device can record a heartbeat signal pickup that is 2.4 times stronger than a fixed silicon sensor can pick up.
Samsung called this innovation the “Stretchable Electronic Skin,” and it was made at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in the Organic Material Lab. The masterminds behind this innovation are principal researcher Youngjun Yun, principal researcher Jong-Won Chung, and staff researcher Yeongjun Lee.
The Amazing Features of the Samsung Electronic Skin
The beauty of this device is that you can use it to measure your biometric data for a long time without worrying about removing the device when you want to exercise or sleep. This is because the device does not create any sort of inconvenience, and it feels like part of the skin on the body.
Another amazing feature of this device is that you can see your biometric data right from the screen. This means you do not have to transfer it to another device to see the data of your biometric, according to Yun. The developers also said they could expand the technology to use in wearable healthcare products for infants, children, adjust, and also patients with certain health conditions.
The device also features a super lightweight design, with the sensor at the left side and the photoplethysmography sensor and OLED display on the right side. The tests are applied to the inner wrist close to the radial artery to measure and show the heartbeat rate in real-time.
How Samsung’s R&D Team Designed the Electronic Skin
Samsung assigned some researchers at the Samsung Institute of Advanced Technology to design the flexible screen of the health device, which can stretch significantly based on the user. In its previous expandable displays, the common material Samsung uses is plastic. However, Samsung recently replaced this plastic, which is a major achievement for the company.
Rather, the company modified the molecular composition of the material they used in the stretchable OLED display to make it stress-free and much stronger. The researchers also used the “Stretchable electrode” material, and this increases the resistance of the device to most deteriorations that occur in the elastomer area. This feature is also similar to smartwatches with health-tracking sensors to read the heart rate and other health conditions of the person wearing the watch.
The Samsung Electronic Skin is designed for everyone, as it is compatible with all skin types. Irrespective of the skin of the user, this device will still perform optimally. It can work with anyone to continually monitor the heartbeat rate of the person with high precision. Samsung also said that the flexible electronic skin adapts better to movement by fixing it to the skin of the user.
The tech giant also said that it would be adding more health monitoring features to the device. Some of the additional features would be blood pressure reading, electromyogram evaluation, and SpO2 monitoring. The materials used to make this device make it easy to add more features to it.
According to the development team, the elastomer of the device is resistant to heat and chemicals, and this makes it easy to integrate with health-tracking sensors and semiconductors.
Conclusion
The world of technology is evolving at a very fast pace, and many companies are in the race to be at the top of the chain. Samsung, which is already a giant in the tech world, is continually doing research to come up with new devices and innovations. The Samsung Electronic Skin is one of the latest inventions of this electronic giant, and the device has a lot to offer.
References:
- https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-researchers-prove-the-viability-of-commercialized-stretchable-devices?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=direct
- https://www.engadget.com/samsung-electronic-skin-display-heartbeat-100155050.html
- https://www.explica.co/samsungs-first-electronic-skin-anticipates-what-the-smartphones-of-the-future-will-be-like-technology.html
Written by The Original PC Doctor on 11/07/2021.