Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia have developed stretchable, wearable sensors that are able to detect harmful toxic gasses and dangerous UV radiation.

Made from a thin layer of zinc oxide, a material found in sunscreen, researchers managed to cram the gas-detecting layer into a very thin but durable patch.

“This thin zinc oxide layer is engineered with a plate-like structure that we call micro-tectonics,” Philipp Gutruf, lead author of the paper describing the sensors, said. “These plates can slide across each other bit like geological plates that form the earth’s crust allowing for high sensitivity and the ability to bend and flex the devices.”

The sensors could detect toxic gases like nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen, which could be useful for protecting workers in hazardous conditions. Also, wearable devices using this tech would be able to detect both pollution and UV radiation, alerting users when they’re best off staying at home, or when they spend too much time in the sun (or otherwise unsafe environment).

The best part is that technology is cheap and durable, and could easily find its place in a number of different consumer electronic devices. Related to that, Apple has recently added UV exposure as a new tracking field to its HealthKit platform.

[Via: mobihealthnews]