Electronic Circuit Stickers Enable Large-Scale 'Internet of Things'

As more objects and devices are connected to the internet, the technology that enables these objects to communicate and sense each other will need to scale up. Engineers at Purdue University and the University of Virginia have developed a fabrication method called transfer printing, which makes electronic films that can be cut and pasted onto any object. These electronic stickers can turn ordinary toy blocks into high-tech sensors within the 'Internet of Things.’ The thin-film electronic circuit can peel easily from its silicon wafer with water, making the wafer reusable for building a nearly infinite number of circuits.