NAPPY SENSOR

TELL WHETHER YOUR (OR SOMEONE ELSE’S) NAPPY IS WET WITHOUT UNDRESSING. In development Professor Takao Someya with the University of Tokyo has developed the world’s first “disposable wireless organic sensor”, and has suggested that one of the uses of this new tech is to embed it into a nappy. The sensor is printed onto a flexible plastic film, which wirelessly transmits information (‘not wet’, ‘bit wet’, ‘quite wet now’ and so on — we assume). This tech is apparently very cheap to produce and isn’t limited to new-born babies either. With the Japanese population ageing rapidly (and other nations, too), adult nappies are in high demand, so this kind of wireless tech will make it a lot easier for aged care workers to check in on their patients’ bowel movements — not to mention being a great deal less embarrassing all round.