Recent Advances in Smart Wearable Sensing Systems

Wearable technology with widespread public attention has generated tremendous economic and social impact, resulting in changes in healthcare procedures and personal lifestyle. Smart wearable sensing systems, as an important type of device in wearable technology which can detect various stimuli relevant to biological species or specific environments, have recently seen a large increase in both commercialization and research. Over the past few years, the research direction in this field has focused mainly on the development of flexible, lightweight, self-powered, miniaturized, and integrated wearable systems. The recent progress and advantages of smart wearable sensing systems for their use in practical electronic applications are summarized herein. An overview of different strategies for smart wearable sensing systems, such as flexible/stretchable substrate and conductors, active materials, wireless communication and displays, and power supplies, is presented. Moreover, the potential applications and challenges of the smart sensing systems are briefly discussed and highlighted.