3D Printed, Customizable, and Multifunctional Smart Electronic Eyeglasses for Wearable Healthcare Systems and Human-Machine Interfaces

Abstract

Personal accessories such as glasses and watches that we usually carry in our daily life can yield useful information from the human body, yet most of them are limited to exercise-related parameters or simple heart rates. Since these restricted characteristics might arise from interfaces between the body and items as one of the main reasons, an interface design considering such a factor can provide us with biologically meaningful data. Here, we describe three-dimensional-printed, personalized, multifunctional electronic eyeglasses (E-glasses), not only to monitor various biological phenomena but also to propose a strategy to coordinate the recorded data for active commands and game operations for human-machine interaction (HMI) applications. Soft, highly conductive composite electrodes embedded in the E-glasses enable us to achieve reliable, continuous recordings of physiological activities. UV-responsive, color-tunable lenses using an electrochromic ionic gel offer the functionality of both eyeglass and sunglass modes, and accelerometers provide the capability of tracking precise human postures and behaviors. Detailed studies of electrophysiological signals including electroencephalogram and electrooculogram demonstrate the feasibility of smart electronic glasses for practical use as a platform for future HMI systems.