Samsung Electronics announced an OLED display with a built-in heart rate monitor.
A study presented by the SAIT research team at the Samsung Advanced Technology Research Center and published in the scientific journal Science Advances. According to this, this flexible display uses an elastomer with high elasticity and elasticity rather than a general plastic material, and increases heat resistance and flexibility by adjusting molecular components. The display can be stretched up to 30% accordingly.
It is also combined with an expandable electrode material. Due to this, the space between the pixels and the electrode material can be contracted without deforming the OLED pixels. Since this flexible display is fixed to the wearer’s skin, it is possible to measure biometric data more accurately than existing wearable devices. The prototype device can measure heart rate with a signal 2.4 times higher than a fixed silicon sensor without compromising performance when the display is stretched by 30% or when the wrist is moved. In addition, it is possible to measure stable biometric data even after using it 1,000 times.
The research team plans to measure oxygen saturation, EMG, and blood pressure in the future by improving the flexible display resolution, flexibility, and biometric data measurement accuracy. In the future, smart watches and smart bands may become thin enough to be worn on the skin. Related information can be found here.