PrintedElectronics
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Future wearables could use magnetic circuits to self-heal
Smart clothing might be huge, except for one problem: The printed "ink" electronics are delicate, so you can break them just by stretching the wrong way. However, researchers from the Jacobs School of Engineering have developed a self-healing magnetic ink that can repair multiple cuts in as little as 50 milliseconds. That could eventually yield batteries, electrochemical sensors and wearable electronic circuits that fix themselves autonomously, making the smart textile industry more feasible.
Kwizzcard printed electronic game cards do the impossible, make Magic: The Gathering even nerdier
Kwizzcard is apparently a game that involves a smiley face, a couple triangles, and good dose of Gevaarlijk kruispunt. But that isn't what has geeks the world o'er giddy with excitement. To be debuted at Printed Electronics World 2010, the game card itself is manufactured by an Austrian start-up called Prelonic and features one battery, two displays, and ten push buttons -- and all the electronics are, you guessed it, printed. But that ain't all! If you're in the biz, the company can customize the product any way you like, with everything from sensor to RFID modules. If you're interested, look up the company's CEO Friedrich Eibenstein. Be sure to tell him Engadget sent you. [Thanks, Barry]
Researchers boast of progress with printed electronics
There's certainly no shortage of researchers working on printable electronics these days, but a group from the EU-funded CONTACT project is now boasting of a "major step" towards being able to print electronics on everyday materials. At the moment, they seem to be focused primarily on printing organic TFT displays directly onto glass plates, which apparently required the use of some aggressive solvents that "attack" the organic materials between the TFT and liquid crystal layers. Their current Labratester 1 printer (pictured above) apparently still has some problems precisely lining up each layer, however, but they say that'll be fixed with the addition of some optical cameras in the Labratester 2 machine they're now working on. Eventually, they say the system could be used to easily and cheaply print displays directly on watch faces or glasses, or even print other electronics onto paper or other fabrics.[Via Protein Feed, image courtesy of NSMZ]
