Samsung has just developed a futuristic flexible display technology that can be used as a wearable. This device can act as a fitness tracker, replacing the bulky smartwatches and other smart bands.

According to the company’s official Newsroom, researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) have just developed a stretchable OLED display that users can put on their wrists. This device would offer fitness tracking features to the user. It even features an integrated PPG heart rate sensor, which the South Korean tech giant calls the “stretchable electronic skin form factor.” The SAIT researchers have tested the device by having it attached to the inner wrist near the radial artery.

In the tests, it was found that the movement of the wrists did not deteriorate the display. Furthermore, it was also found that the stretchable display remained reliable with skin elongation of up to 30 percent during the tests. The sensors and the OLED panel were also durable enough to continue working stably even after 1,000 stretches. SAIT researchers managed to “modify the composition and structure of elastomer, a polymer compound with high elasticity and resilience and used existing semiconductor manufacturing processes to apply it to the substrates of stretchable OLED displays and optical blood-flow sensors.”

The smartphone maker claims that this is a first for the industry and added that the patch will feel like a part of the user’s skin. Additionally, it would even measure biometric data while sleeping or exercising. Principal researcher Youngjun Yun added that “The technology can also be expanded to use in wearable healthcare products for adults, children, and infants, as well as patients with certain diseases.” Unfortunately, this futuristic device is still in the early stages of development and the company has yet to announce when it might launch commercially.

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Wearables are turning out to be one of Samsung’s stronghold in addition to smartphones and tablets. The company has got the Gear S2, Gear S3, Gear Fit, Gear Fit 2 and lately the Gear Sport, all coming with various distinguishing features. There are feelers that the tech giant is working on a new type of wearable design which would see the device having a flexible display. The feeler comes in form of a patent filing by Samsung which is that of a new design depicting a smart bracelet with a display panel that’s not only flexible but partially bendable.

The new design concept has got the nod of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where it was spotted to have gotten approval. The approval is coming after over two years of reviews as the application was submitted in 2015. As for the design, the wristband looks like what has a circular design and is quite wider than Samsung’s current crop of wearables including the Gear Fit 2 Pro.  The display can curve with the wristband, and can even b straightened out, making it stick out from the rest of the device.

We can’t be so sure but it seems the smart wearable will run on Android OS, considering the types of icons that are sketched on the display such as YouTube, Google Photos and Chrome. These are just sketches, no further details were revealed. But Samsung did indicate in the patent that the display can be separated entirely from the band and still function which means we could be looking at a wristband and smartphone in one place. The display is also rotatable and could work in landscape and portrait mode which could be a function of the interface.The patent details include that the wristband can be made of any conventional materials like rubber, silicone, or metal, while the display panel may be attachable to the bracelet using magnets.

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We can say when this concept design would see the light of day. We are still expecting Samsung’s first smartphone with a foldable display known as Galaxy X and that may drop next year. A foldable wearable with multiple functions sounds like a nice idea as well.

(source)

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