Wearable sensors

This CNN video highlights tattoo ink developed by Media Lab researchers that changes colors when it detects changes in biochemistry. The researchers hope the technology could eventually be used to, “help people better monitor their health.” 

WGBH’s Adam Reilly visits MIT spinout Embr Labs, where researchers have developed a wristband that helps the wearer feel warmer or cooler, and could also help reduce energy consumption. "Even if we could help people use their AC unit and their heating just a fraction of a degree less, the benefits for the world could be tremendous,” explains co-founder and MIT graduate David Cohen-Tanugi. 

USA Today reporter Sydney C. Greene highlights a new piece of wearable technology developed by MIT researchers that was designed to help prevent sexual assault. Greene explains that the researchers developed a “sticker that integrates with clothing to respond to signs of assault such as forced disrobing.”

CSAIL researchers Tuka Al-Hanai and Mohammad Ghassemi speak to the BBC’s Gareth Mitchell about their system that can detect the tone of a conversation. Ghassemi explains that this research will provide “the first steps toward feedback,” for people who struggle to read social cues. ​

CSAIL researchers have developed a wearable AI system that allows users to detect the tone of a conversation in real-time, reports Janet Burns for Forbes. Using two algorithms to analyze data, the researchers were able to “classify each five-second chunk of conversation as positive, neutral, or negative,” explains Burns.

Prof. Tauhid Zaman writes for The Wall Street Journal about his research examining how biometric data could be used to help determine how people will perform under stress. Zaman and his colleagues found that “people who sweated when the stakes were low did the best when stakes were high.”

Jordan Graham of the Boston Herald writes that researchers from MIT and Microsoft have created temporary, gold leaf tattoos that can control electronic devices. “That means a shiny trackpad on your arm will be able to control a phone or soaring shiny butterflies will be able to play, pause or go to the next song,” explains Graham.

Matt McFarland reports for CNN that MIT researchers have developed temporary, gold-leaf tattoos that serve as wearable devices “that add a personal touch of style.” The tattoos can interface with smartphones, store data like movie or bus tickets, or display moods by changing colors, McFarland explains.

MIT researchers have created temporary wearable gold leaf tattoos that can project a user’s mood and allow them to control nearby devices, writes Haniya Rae for Popular Science. “We wanted to build an output display that allowed for a more aesthetically pleasing look,” says graduate student Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, of the motivation behind the tattoos. 

Temporary tattoos created by MIT researchers that allow users to control their electronic devices could one day make remote controls obsolete, writes Thomas Tamblyn for The Huffington Post. Tamblyn explains that the tattoos are made “using gold metal leaf, which means that it’s cheap, skin-friendly and can support a range of different input options.” 

Researchers from Prof. Timothy Swager’s group have created sensors that detect trace amounts of toxic gases, writes Janet Burns for Forbes. The sensor can benefit the U.S. military’s current initiative for the development of wearable equipment, which includes flexible armor and body sensors, writes Burns.

In an article for the Financial Times about new health care technologies, Sarah Murray highlights Prof. Rosalind Picard’s work developing wearable monitoring devices that could help people with conditions like epilepsy. “Wearables are going to be much bigger than anyone imagined,” says Picard.

Karen Weintraub writes for The New York Times about Professor Rosalind Picard’s work developing wearable, stress-measuring devices. “If you want to learn about human variability, measure stress,” says Picard.

Charlotte Lytton writes for The Daily Beast about SenseGlass, a mirror created by graduate student Javier Hernandez that uses Google Glass technology to register physiological and emotional changes in the viewer. “I believe mirrors are a great platform for health monitoring as we use them [everyday],” says Hernandez. 

Professor Dina Katabi was among the attendees showcasing startup ideas at the White House’s Demo Day, writes Jessica Geller for BetaBoston. “Demo Day promotes diversity,” said Katabi. “Women and people of different backgrounds are something that I think would be great to add to the startup community.”