A new UK start-up, which is commercialising a unique conductive ink created by postgraduates at London's Royal College of Art, has been awarded funding to develop its technology for printed sensors and other devices.
Bare Conductive is the name given to a non-toxic, water-soluble and electrically conductive ink created by four ex-students, which is garnering interest from the arts, music and, more recently the emerging wearable and printed electronics sectors. In initial projects the ink was painted directly onto skin, to turn the body into a circuit, by passing a low voltage signal through the ink.
Wearable electronics
The technology was targeted at wearable devices and electronic interfaces, and presentations at several prestigious international exhibitions, such as the Ars Electronica Festival.
More recently the founders of Bare Conductive - the company of the same name set up to commercialise the technology - have begun exploring product development in medical and athletics sensing, and also interactive classroom games and toys, because the technology is low voltage and non-toxic. The ink also has the potential to be relatively cheap to manufacture compared with other conductive inks and technologies.
Earlier this month, the company was one of four promising UK start-ups chosen by the UK government Technology Strategy Board to receive funding to help commercialise their respective technologies.
The competition was launched in September and 550 businesses submitted short video pitches outlining proposals in one of four themes: energy, digital, healthcare and sustainability. These were assessed and shortlisted and the companies behind them were invited to make written submissions. Three finalists for each theme were then selected and invited to pitch for £100,000 (€114,000)each at a specially organised London event.
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Bare Conductive
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