BEIJING : Researchers at Tsinghua University have introduced a new generation of flexible electronic chips designed to be worn on the skin or embedded into fabrics. The breakthrough could transform how wearable devices operate, particularly in areas such as health monitoring and smart clothing.

Most existing wearables depend on rigid chips, which can be uncomfortable and restrict design flexibility. While flexible electronics do exist, they typically lack the processing power needed for real-time analysis and must send data to remote data centers, a process that is slower and consumes more energy.

To address this, the research team developed the Flexi series of chips, which use an innovative “memory computing” architecture. This design allows calculations to be carried out directly within memory units, reducing power consumption and increasing processing speed, key advantages for compact, battery-powered wearable devices.

The chips are produced by processing flexible plastic at low temperatures, resulting in a thin and lightweight design that costs less than one US dollar per unit. They are also highly durable, withstanding more than 40,000 bending cycles and maintaining stable performance for over six months. Technically, the chips operate at a frequency of 12.5 MHz while consuming just 2.52 milliwatts of power.

In a practical demonstration, researchers used a Flexi chip to run a neural network capable of analysing heart rate, respiration, body temperature, and skin moisture. The system successfully identified daily human activities with an accuracy of 97.4 percent, highlighting the potential for independent, on-body health monitoring without the need for smartphones or cloud connectivity.