In what might be either the most discreet or the most conspicuous of wearable electronics, a group of analysts led by Desheng Kong of Nanjing University has built up a prototype stretchable stopwatch sticker that can be adhered to the back of an individual’s hand. Utilizing nanotechnology, the new timepiece isn’t just splendid enough to read in indoor light yet runs at voltages low enough to be safe for human skin.

Electronic stickers or temporary tattoos aren’t new. Such technology has a wide scope of potential applications, particularly in the medical field, yet Alternating-Current Electroluminescent (ACEL) shows that have been recently created leave much to be desired. This is on the grounds that for such gadgets to be splendid enough to be practical, they need to work at voltages that could be risky by human skin.

To make a stopwatch sticker that is somewhat less shocking, Desheng’s group sandwiched an electroluminescent layer consisting of light-emitting microparticles set in a stretchable dielectric material between two adaptable silver nanowire electrodes. In any case, the clever bit is that the dielectric material is made of ceramic nanoparticles embedded in a rubbery polymer. These have the property of focusing the electric field on the phosphor, making it light up a lot more splendid at much lower voltages.

Up until this point, the four-digit stopwatch sticker has been given a shot on a volunteer’s hand and is brilliant enough to be seen in indoor lighting conditions. The expectation is that the technology might one be able to day discover applications in soft robotics and human-machine interfaces.