Printing electronic components a step closer

You want to know what future fashion statements will look like or what form popular consumer electronics will take, read this newest article in ScienceDaily. Here they describe advancements researcher have make in developing printable electronics that can be used for creating radio frequency identification tags and flexible watch displays. This research comes from the vision of being able to print complex electronic components on organic materials such as paper, fabrics, or plastic. The need being to produce large amounts of these components cheaply. Proof of concept has shone with suitable inks and printers, organic liquid crystal displays and other optical electronic devices can be printed and done very accurately. This is extremely important because each component has to be persisely aligned with it's neighbors to function. This type of technology has unlimited potential, say food packaging that can test the contents and tell you if they have expired or are contaminated. Shopping bags that could tell what products are inside and do all the totalling and billing, eliminating the need for a check-out person, electronic paper, eyeglasses with embedded displays, or even smart clothing. The possibilities are endless. Ah if this doesn't smack of Cory's story Printcrime!

photo Credit: SOFTswitch Ltd.