Page 16 - Spring Summer 2026
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Industry News Industry News
BACTERIAL CELLULOSE
FOR SUSTAINABLE MACHINES NOW HAVE
CIRCUIT BOARDS SENSE OF TOUCH
Researchers from imec/Hasselt University and and specially designed interconnections that can
Vrije Universiteit Brussel have developed an expand and contract under strain. This enables it to
integration technology that embeds liquid metal be applied in areas where traditional rigid electronics
Visit our conductors inside a soft, stretchable encapsulant, would be unsuitable.
allowing circuits and sensors to deform, twist and
Reference: ‘Researchers demonstrate artificial Skin for Machines’,
recover from damage without losing functionality. New Electronics, Vol. 59 Issue 5, June/July 2026, p.47
website! Combining flexible electronics with advanced
sensing capabilities, this pioneering development
effectively provides machines with an artificial ‘skin’
that gives them a sense of touch.
Why not head down to our
The technology involves ultra-thin electronic layers
website and read more news in
being embedded in a soft, elastic material, allowing
our blog section? it to conform closely to surfaces like robotic arms.
Within the structure are dense networks of micro-
A project in Germany is investigating the potential sensors that detect pressure, temperature and
Updated daily with hand-picked
application of environmentally friendly alternatives motion. These can be converted into electrical signals
articles from around the web... to conventional electronic materials through the use that are subsequently interpreted by processing
of bacterial cellulose in printed circuit boards. systems.
Wurthe Electronic Circuit Board Technology, The The ability to stretch and bend without losing
Institute for Materials Science at the University of functionality is provided by rubber-like substrates
Stuttgart, and the Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft fur
angewandte Forcshung are together developing
bio-based circuit carriers using bacterial cellulose.
Through controlled microbial processes this raw
material is transformed into durable, sheet-like
substrates that could potentially replace the Visit our website!
petroleum-based components used in electronics.
By using digital printing techniques, conductive
pathways are applied directly onto the cellulose Why not head down to our website and
substrates with inkjet printing using copper and silver
read more news in our blog section?
links allowing for precise placement of conductive
traces. Greater flexibility in circuit design is thereby
enabled.
Updated daily with hand-picked articles
institutionofelectronics.ac.uk A demonstrator is currently being constructed to from around the web...
showcase multilayer PCBs being produced using a
combination of bacterial cellulose and digital printing
techniques. institutionofelectronics.ac.uk
Reference: Tyler, N., ‘Project explores Bacterial Cellulose for
Sustainable Circuit Boards’, New Electronics, 2nd. June
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