Stretchable Electronics That Can Sense, Compute, and Adapt
Korean Researchers Develop Reconfigurable Soft Transistor for Next-Generation Wearable Bioelectronics
Wearable electronics are evolving beyond simple sensing devices. As the technology advances, future wearables could continuously monitor physiological signals, process information locally, and respond to changing conditions in real time.
Achieving that vision requires electronics that are not only functional and reliable, but also soft, flexible, and capable of adapting naturally to the human body. A major challenge is integrating sensing, computing, and memory into compact wearable systems without adding significant size, complexity, or power consumption.
Researchers at Pusan National University (PNU) in Korea are addressing this challenge with a new approach that could allow a single stretchable electronic device to perform multiple functions.
One Device, Multiple Functions
A research team led by Assistant Professor Hyunseok Shim developed a fully stretchable organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) that can be reconfigured for different types of electronic operation.
Unlike conventional wearable systems that may require separate components for sensing, processing, and memory, the new device can switch between digital logic and analog memory-like operation by changing the concentration of salt in its surrounding electrolyte.
At higher salt concentrations, the transistor can perform rapid switching needed for digital logic operations. At lower concentrations, it exhibits analog, synaptic behavior associated with memory and signal retention.
This ability to change functionality provides an important step toward adaptive electronics, devices that can alter how they operate depending on their environment or application.
Stretchable Materials for Wearable Applications
Rather than developing an entirely new material, the researchers modified the conducting polymer PEDOT using a dual-doping approach. The resulting material improved both the electrical stability and mechanical robustness of the transistor, allowing it to maintain performance while undergoing repeated deformation.
The device also has an unusual feature: its internal operating state can be seen.
As the transistor changes modes, it undergoes a visible color change. This electrochromic response provides a visual indication of the device's electrical or memory state without requiring additional circuitry for that readout.
From Sensing to Real-Time Response
The potential of this technology extends beyond the transistor itself.
The research team demonstrated a wearable adaptive bioelectronic system capable of interpreting physiological signals, including swelling and temperature, and using those signals to adjust compression accordingly. This creates a closed-loop approach in which the wearable can sense a physiological condition, process the information, and trigger a response.
That approach represents an important shift in wearable technology. Instead of simply collecting physiological data and sending it to an external processor, future wearable systems could perform some sensing and computation directly where the data is generated.
Why This Matters for the Semiconductor Ecosystem
The development highlights an important direction in semiconductor and electronics innovation: bringing computation closer to the point where data is generated.
Traditional wearable architectures often rely on multiple components and external processors to handle sensing, computation, and memory. Adaptive soft electronics could eventually integrate some of these functions into a more compact platform.
The technology also connects several rapidly developing areas of the semiconductor ecosystem, including edge computing, neuromorphic electronics, bioelectronics, electronic skin, soft robotics, and human-machine interfaces.
For semiconductor professionals, this research demonstrates how future electronic systems may extend beyond conventional rigid architectures. Organic and ionically controlled devices could complement traditional semiconductor technologies in applications where mechanical flexibility, low-power operation, and interaction with biological systems are important.
Looking Ahead
The researchers envision potential applications in smart electronic skin, wearable health monitors, bioelectronics, advanced prosthetics, neuromorphic systems, and soft robotics. PNU notes that the technology could provide a foundation for medical and health-related wearable devices capable of responding dynamically to physiological conditions.
In the longer term, technologies like this could contribute to personalized therapeutic systems that respond to an individual's changing physiological condition. A compression device, for example, could potentially adjust itself based on changes in swelling, while future electronic skin could sense and respond to its surroundings in real time.
The broader significance is the convergence of sensing, memory, computation, and response within a single soft electronic platform.
As semiconductor innovation continues to expand beyond traditional computing architectures, developments such as this demonstrate how the next generation of electronics could become not only smaller and more flexible, but also more adaptive and responsive to the environments in which they operate.
KASPA Perspective
The evolution of semiconductor technology is increasingly about more than making devices smaller or faster. It is also about creating systems that can sense, process, learn, and respond in increasingly complex environments.
The work from Pusan National University is an example of this broader shift, bringing adaptive computing functionality directly into a stretchable electronic platform. As research in soft and bio-integrated electronics continues, technologies like this could create new opportunities at the intersection of semiconductors, healthcare, AI, edge computing, and human-centered technology.
For the semiconductor community, it is another indication that the future of computing may not be confined to conventional chips and rigid electronics. Increasingly, computation itself may become part of the materials and devices interacting directly with the world around us.
Research Highlight
This article is based on research conducted by Pusan National University and highlighted by the university through its research news program on July 28, 2026.
Research Team: Hyunseok Shim, Heena Kim, Taeheon Kim, Yunsu Kim, and Huijeong Lee
Institution: School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Korea
Research Paper: Fully Stretchable Ionically Tunable Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Wearable Adaptive Logic Bioelectronics
Journal: ACS Nano, Volume 20, Issue 26, 2026, pp. 18883–18899
Published Online: June 24, 2026
Published in Issue: July 7, 2026
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6c05309