2. Purpose and Agenda
2
• Familiarize the research community with A*STAR’s interest in Next Generation
Wearables and define the scope of interests relevant to a new thematic
programme to be started in 2017.
• Solicit feedback and questions.
Purpose
8. Prof Zhenyu Li,
University of Washington
1) Form factor
2) Energy supply and power delivery
4) Data handling, storage, and
information extraction
3) Sensing modality and signal integrity Prof Ali Javey
U.C. Berkeley 2016
LG G Watch
Challenges
9. 1) Form factor
2) Energy supply and power delivery
4) Data handling, storage, and information extraction
3) Sensing modality and signal integrity
Wearable systems often require custom forms to fit to the human body. Systems must have properties of
conformability, flexibility, and long-term stability when placed in contact with the human body or embedded within
clothing fabric. Example hard challenges are unobtrusive packaging or embedding within fibers, development of
specialized materials, interface reliability, and durability.
The useable lifetime of wearable systems depends on persistent energy supply and autonomous operation in a
wireless environment. Ideally one would like autonomous operation over the projected lifetime of the wearable
system without the need to change batteries or performing electrical recharging. Low-power or no-power sensing
approaches and energy harvesting are therefore of special interest in this programme.
Robust sensing modalities and platforms that can detect physical and molecular markers in bodily fluids at low
concentrations are needed to extract relevant physiologic data non-invasively. Sensor drift over time, integrity of
physical contact with human body, and human-wearable interfaces are significant long known challenges.
Approaches that ensure placement and contact reliability or can operate at a standoff distance are of interest.
Eventual wearable systems are envisioned to massively collect, process, and transmit information based on current
multiple physiological and biochemical parameters as well as historical information. It is envisioned that next generation
wearable systems must supply more that than just data to be subsequently processed offline but instead must be capable
of developing onboard intelligence with capabilities that might eventually provide useful feedback to the human or
autonomous interaction with the body.
Hard Problems
10. Prof Zhenin Bao, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
Relevant Research
11. Prof Ali Javey, Electrical Engineering, University of California - Berkeley
Relevant Research
13. Prof Dae-Hyeong Kim, Chemical & Biological Eng, Seoul National University
Relevant Research
14. What Problem Are You Trying to Solve?
Problem
Current wearable sensors and electronics (systems) are limited by materials issues,
Improper fit and placement, power, signal integrity, durability, and limited ability to
acquire, store, and process multiple data. Wearable systems must meet
all these challenges to be accepted in consumer and industrial applications.
15. • Solve the hard problems holding back the wearable sensors and
electronics field
- Form factor
- Energy and power
- Signal integrity
- Multiple-signature extraction
• Establish capabilities and an infrastructure in Singapore that
attracts other researchers from around the world
• Pre-positions Singapore for eventual commercial opportunities
next generation wearables
Scope of A*STAR’s Interest
16. 16
Examples of Interest
• A new research approach that simultaneously monitors multiple known
analytes of interest Na+, Cl-, NH4+, Ca2+, etc. and biochemical biomarkers
lactate, glucose, urea, uric acid, creatatine, etc.
• An integrated systems of sensors, electronics, and power measuring
< 5mm x 5mm x 1mm
• Integration of new materials
• Systems integration of technologies
1. What problem are you trying to solve?
2. How do you intend to solve the problem?
3. What milestones do you plan to use to ensure progress?
4. How do you intend to measure your research success quantitatively?
Call for Research Ideas
17. 17
• Research that only builds capability and infrastructure
• Research ideas that are not directed toward solving a problem
• Research goals which are not quantitatively specified and measured
• Incremental research approaches that merely build upon solutions that are
already known and demonstrated, e.g. 20% improvement in metric x
• Engineering-only solutions with no high risk research unknowns
• Wearable gadgets that do not solve a generic hard wearables problem
• Ideas specifically directed toward short-term commercialization
• Supplements to active research already underway
• Mention of traditional KPIs including number of students trained, number of
publications, number of research citations, etc.
Not of Interest
19. • Identify the hard problem you are trying to solve
• Submit a 6-8 page powerpoint presentation by 24 Apr 2017, 3 pm
to programmatic_ame@scei.a-star.edu.sg
• Required Response
1. Title slide with name(s), affiliation, and contact info
2. Description of the problem to be solved
3. Key technical approach to be undertaken (1-2 slides)
4. Major challenges your technical approach will address
5. Organization’s capabilities; summary of relevant past research (optional)
6. Summary with technical endpoint or final quantitatively measured goal
identified including your proof-of-concept, platform demonstration, or working
prototype deliverable.
7. Anything else you want to add
Your idea will be reviewed by A*STAR reviewers. If successful, you will be
requested to present your idea to international experts at the Next Generation
Wearables Workshop on 4-5 May 2017.
Next Steps
20. • Launch of a portfolio of research approaches which takes 3-5 years
to complete with two to three phases
• Base period funding for 12 months. Options are exercised based
on satisfactory performance and relevance to the current scientific
state-of-the-art.
• Possible discontinuation and consolidation of approaches; teaming
• Contract modification at the end of Year 1, 2, 3, 4
• Periodic reporting (1-2 written pages) of research progress
• Quarterly review of research performance. Researchers share their
results with one another periodically in a workshop venue
Programme Management
Good morning and welcome to the A*STAR Proposers’ Day for NGW.
Just a little over 1 year ago A*STAR SERC introduced a new concept called a Proposers’ Day to announce new larger-scale longer-term thematic programs.
The concept of a Proposers’ Day is modeled after a process used by DARPA to ensure targeted outcomes in eventual research proposals to be submitted by the proposers community.
The Proposers’ Day begins the process of soliciting new research ideas, shaping a subsequent Call for Proposals, and ensuring impact which for A*STAR means eventual economic value capture for Singapore.
I’m Dennis Polla and serve as the Director for Special Programmes at A*STAR. I am here to describe our interest in a possible NGW programme.
The purpose of the Proposers’ Day is to communicate A*STAR’s interests to potential research performers.
We do not want to tell you what to propose – we want your own ideas
We do have some areas of interest for our programme which might not be completely unique to A*STAR or to the Singapore research landscape
We are foremost concerned about carrying out research in Singapore that may have eventual economic impact. Of course, we want to do excellent science but economic impact for Singapore is of primary importance.
There is no shortage of headlines on wearable sensors and electronics:
- A contact lens that measures glucose
- Electronic tattoos
- A headband that can read brain waves
- Wearable monitors of body data and activity including
Sleep
Heart rate
Breathing
Temperature
Galvanic skin response
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Today’s meeting is not intended to comprehensively review the commercial field or the results of the scientific community.
The purpose instead is to address the bottleneck research issues holding back further commercialization in many applications particularly in the three most widely recognized opportunity areas:
Sports
Health and Fitness
Visualization
Sports and fitness activity monitoring are areas of immediate commercialization where there are few or no regulatory issues and strong markets for individuals willing to pay for new capabilities that enhance their recreational experiences.
Similarly, health and wellness monitoring are important to many who want to improve their health or want the ensure they are getting enough exercise.
Physiological monitoring of the heart and body activity are perhaps the most prevalent wearables to date with popular products such as Fitbit and Apply Watch.
Biochemical monitoring of human activity is just starting to become feasible with the recent demonstration of sweat monitoring and the monitoring of its constituents including metabolites.
The future longer term collection and monitoring of diverse physiological and biochemical signals, or course, points the way to the identification and monitoring of human health biomarkers, associated risk for disease, and perhaps even disease presence and progression.
Wearable visualization aids represents a third opportunity area with capabilities to enable:
- Enhanced visualization
- Hands-free operation
- Multiple information sets and overlays
- Interface to other electronic devices
The example shown is the infamous Google Glasses. With respect to consumer applications, it exposes multiple issues, including consumers don’t want it.
The example shown is the infamous Google Glasses. With respect to consumer applications, it exposes multiple issues, including consumers don’t want it.
Warm – fogs up
2) Continuous operation implies short battery lifetime
3) Discomfort (burning would be a liability)
4) Privacy – surreptitious picture taking; erroneous x-ray imaging capability
5) High price
.
This is the most important slide.
DARPA Boot Strike. Soldiers take 10-20 kg of gear into the field that is mostly just batteries.
Great research is taking place throughout the world. But the scientific community has not solved everything.
I do not want to throw stones as excellent research emerges but take it for what it is and look to where the next improvements are.
Organic electronics – low performance
Ali Jave
Can we help him with form factor?
John Rogers – difficult to quantitate
Appears to have solved the form factor problem but does it do anything useful?
[Just state the text]
To get there, we don’t want to build capability only. We want to solve hard challenges.
Let me give some examples …
[Click]
We want to develop great proposals with you.
We want to develop great proposals with you.
Similarly, health and wellness monitoring are important to many who want to improve their health or want the ensure they are getting enough exercise.
Physiological monitoring of the heart and body activity are perhaps the most prevalent wearables to date with popular products such as Fitbit and Apply Watch.
Biochemical monitoring of human activity is just starting to become feasible with the recent demonstration of sweat monitoring and the monitoring of its constituents including metabolites.
The future longer term collection and monitoring of diverse physiological and biochemical signals, or course, points the way to the identification and monitoring of human health biomarkers, associated risk for disease, and perhaps even disease presence.