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The capacity to discern and locate positions in three-dimensional space is crucial for human-machine interfaces and robotic perception. However, current soft electronics can only obtain two-dimensional spatial locations through physical contact. In this study, we report a non-contact position targeting concept enabled by transparent and thin soft electronic skin (E-skin) with three-dimensional sensing capabilities. Inspired by the active electrosensation of mormyroidea fish, this E-skin actively ascertains the 3D positions of targeted objects in a contactless manner and can wirelessly convey the corresponding positions to other devices in real-time. Consequently, this E-skin readily enables interaction with machines, i.e., manipulating virtual objects, controlling robotic arms, and drones in either virtual or actual 3D space. Additionally, it can be integrated with robots to provide them with 3D situational awareness for perceiving their surroundings, avoiding obstacles, or tracking targets.

Wearable haptics serve as an enhanced media to connect humans and VR/robots. The inevitable sweating issue in all wearables creates a bottleneck for wearable haptics, as the sweat/moisture accumulated in the skin/device interface can substantially affect feedback accuracy, comfortability, and create hygienic problems. Nowadays, wearable haptics typically gain performance at the cost of sacrificing the breathability, comfort, and biocompatibility. Here, we developed a fully integrated breathable haptic textile (FIBHT) to solve these trade-off issues, where the FIBHT exhibits high-level integration of 128 pixels over the palm, great stretchability of 400%, and superior permeability of over 657 g/m2/day (moisture) and 40 mm/s (air). It is a stand-alone haptic system totally composed of stretchable, breathable, and bioadhesive materials, which empowers it with precise, sweating/movement-insensitive and dynamic feedback, and makes FIBHT powerful for virtual touching in broad scenarios.

Bioelectronics is a hot research topic, yet an important tool, as it facilitates the creation of advanced medical devices that interact with biological systems to effectively diagnose, monitor and treat a broad spectrum of health conditions. Electrical stimulation (ES) is a pivotal technique in bioelectronics, offering a precise, non-pharmacological means to modulate and control biological processes across molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ levels. This method holds the potential to restore or enhance physiological functions compromised by diseases or injuries by integrating sophisticated electrical signals, device interfaces, and designs tailored to specific biological mechanisms. This review explains the mechanisms by which ES influences cellular behaviors, introduces the essential stimulation principles, discusses the performance requirements for optimal ES systems, and highlights the representative applications. From this review, we can realize the potential of ES based bioelectronics in therapy, regenerative medicine and rehabilitation engineering technologies, ranging from tissue engineering to neurological technologies, and the modulation of cardiovascular and cognitive functions. This review underscores the versatility of ES in various biomedical contexts and emphasizes the need to adapt to complex biological and clinical landscapes it addresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable sweat sensors can detect and monitor various substances in sweat, providing valuable information for healthcare monitoring and clinical diagnostics. Recent advances in flexible electronic technologies have enabled the development of wearable sweat sensors that can measure sweat rate and biochemical substances in real time, although several challenges remain, such as power management and sweat extraction issues. Here, a passive sweat extraction strategy as well as a self‐powered monitoring system (SEMS) is reported to be designed for sedentary individuals, i.e., elders. The SEMS system comprises a wearable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) for sweat extraction, a sweat‐activated battery (SAB) as the integrated power source, carbachol‐loaded iontophoresis electrodes for sweat extraction, microfluidics with biosensors for detecting physiological information in sweat, and near field communication (NFC)‐based wireless microelectronics for data communication, processing, and collection. By tapping the TENG, sedentary people can passively extract sweat based on the iontophoresis process, allowing the sensors to detect biological information in sweat. The good flexibility of the SEMS device enables real‐time and non‐invasive detection of sweat analytes in a wearable format. This system offers a new strategy of sweat collection and analysis for the elderly group, and therefore can help to understand human physiology and personalize health monitoring deeply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) reflects the great significance of rapid and accurate detection of pathogens by new sensing technologies. Antibody based biosensors with high sensitivity comparable to golden standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and miniaturized device features allow the detection of pathogens in portable and flexible formats. Herein, flexible metal oxide electrolyte‐gated field‐effect transistors (EGFETs) are reported to serve as the biosensors for rapid and ultrasensitive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) detection. The semiconducting layer of the EGFETs associates with hybrid material of PEI doped metal oxides that not only improves the transistor performance, but also regulates microstructure forming higher surface‐to‐volume ratio, which brings more antibodies immobilization, resulting in higher sensitive, and faster response for detecting SARS‐CoV‐2. Comprehensive studies of materials and interfacing engineering of the EGFETs not only build the strong foundation for the EGFET sensors to show excellent sensitivity with a limit of detection from 0.14 fg ml−1 for SARS‐CoV‐2 S1 proteins, and 0.09 copies µl−1 for SARS‐CoV‐2 viruses, but also offer good mechanical properties to enable thin, soft flexible sensing platforms. This work provides a new strategy from materials to devices as innovative schemes for virus/pathogens detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a novel approach to monitor the fatigue levels of construction rebar benders by measuring chemical biomarkers using sweat sensors. Fatigue resulting from dehydration and energy depletion can severely endanger the safety and health of construction workers. Sodium, lactate, glucose, and sweat rate were chosen as detectable biomarkers in this study, as their concentrations can indicate hydration status, energy consumption, and electrolyte balance, making them suitable for fatigue monitoring. The results were used to construct a fatigue model using supervised machine learning approaches. Construction rebar experiments were conducted while the sweat-based biosensors were applied to rebar workers to evaluate their fatigue with five different classifiers, demonstrating accuracy rates ranging from 71.43% to 96.43%. The results suggested that sweat-based biomarkers offer a noninvasive and accessible fatigue monitoring alternative. This can potentially help alleviate fatigue-related adverse ill effects like dehydration or cramping by enabling instant fluid or nutrient supply recommendations during construction manual tasks. It also provides valuable insights into the physiological effects of rebar work. Besides, this study presents a valuable model for predicting workers' fatigue levels, which could be applied in the construction industry to improve workers' safety and productivity. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of maintaining appropriate hydration, nutrition, and electrolyte balance during physically demanding tasks like construction manual work. The study demonstrates that sweat biomarkers, including sweat rate, sodium, lactate, and glucose, can be utilized to assess fatigue among construction rebar workers. Sweat biosensors offer advantages of small size and non-invasiveness, making them suitable for a wide range of scenarios in both the construction industry and sports fields. Moreover, sweat rate and sodium levels can indicate hydration status, and their measurements can be used to recommend immediate fluid intake. Also, lactate and glucose are essential resources that sustain the body, and their measurements can suggest appropriate nutritional intake. These instant recommendations can alleviate the adverse effects of fatigue, consequently reducing fatigue levels. Thus, it is a promising methodology for enhancing the health and safety of the construction industry. In addition, the results of the study will be shared with construction companies, allowing them to introspect fatigue development and chalk out further interventions and policies to manage fatigue effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]