Professor Takao Someya and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo's graduate school have developed a new type of conductive ink in a strategic research promotion project promoted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and succeeded in creating a cloth-shaped myoelectric sensor using this ink. Did.It is very easy to create a fine circuit by printing an ink-like material with a printer.We have also succeeded in mounting a myoelectric sensor on sportswear simply by printing a circuit on fabric using this ink.

From the press release

From the press release


Ordinary electronic components have undergone many processes in a huge manufacturing device to form a circuit on a solid such as silicon.Parts made this way could not form wiring or electrodes on a fibrous material such as cloth.On the other hand, some conductive materials that can be formed on the cloth have also been developed.However, there was a drawback that the conductivity would drop or break even if it was stretched slightly.In addition, although these problems were cleared with another material, it was necessary to process 10 times or more, and it was difficult to create a fine circuit.

Professor Someya's group has long succeeded in developing conductive ink by dissolving fluorine-based rubber and silver flakes in a solvent.However, this was torn even if it was stretched slightly.In this research, by mixing this with a surfactant, we obtained rubber-like extensibility while maintaining high conductivity.This makes it possible to create durable and precise electronic components in the very simple process of printing a circuit on cloth with a printer.

The results of this research will greatly expand the possibilities of wearable devices, which have been rapidly attracting the attention of companies since around 2014.It is expected to be used in fields such as sports, healthcare, and medical care at low cost.In the future, it may be possible to create sportswear that measures various biological information and health conditions of the body such as heart rate, body fat percentage, and muscle percentage just by wearing it.

Source:[Japan Science and Technology Agency] Developed the world's highest conductivity elastic conductor that can be printed on fabric

Tokyo University

Established in the 10th year of the Meiji era.A university with the longest history in Japan and at the forefront of Japanese knowledge

The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 (Meiji 10) by integrating the Tokyo Kaisei School and the Tokyo Medical School.Since its establishment, it has developed education and research in a unique way in the world as a leading university in Japan and an academic center for the fusion of East and West cultures.As a result, many human resources have been produced in a wide range of fields, and many research achievements […]

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