Wearable electronic skin allows for thought-controlled devices

New Scientist : An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a common device for measuring brain activity. The technology has also been used to allow a wearer to remotely control a variety of devices. However, the electrodes and wires of a normal EEG make it unwieldy in any but the most controlled conditions. Now, John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his colleagues have built an EEG into a thin wearable skin that adheres to the body via the van der Waals force and stays in place for up to two weeks. The small patch is worn just behind the ear, and test subjects used it to spell words on a screen in front of them. During the testing, the EEG was still connected to the screen by wires. Rogers’s team is working to incorporate wireless connectivity into the device. The researchers’ primary goal is to use the device for remote monitoring of medical conditions such as seizures, but they think it could also be used to control a variety of simple devices.