If there's one thing that's true about consumer electronics, it's that no new product stays hot for very long. The latest innovation is constantly rendering your old gadgets obsolete. In fact the average American replaces their cellphone every 22 months, and some 150 million unwanted phones are tossed every year.
Imagine if those devices could just vanish into thin air instead? It's not a magic trick, it's the latest focus in the field of transient electronics. Scientists are developing electronics that can be programmed to dissolve in water at the end of their lifespan. The new technology could potentially save millions of dollars and prevent millions of tons of toxic e-waste.
"You don't need your cell phone to last 25, 50 years. Nobody wants to keep it that long anyway," John Rogers, lead researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently told the Associated Press.
The project, called "Born to Die," focuses on making devices last a specific, programmed amount of time.
Researchers designed a silicon chip, encapsulated in thin layers of silk, that will eventually dissolve in water. Since scientists can predict how long the coating will take to dissolve, it's possible to set a gadget's lifespan anywhere from a couple hours to several years.
"The goal of the electronics industry has always been to build durable devices that last forever with stable performance," Rogers said. "But many new opportunities open up once you start thinking about electronics that could disappear in a controlled and programmable way."
For the last couple years, DARPA has taken an interest in those potential opportunities, funding research into transient electronics for medical and military purposes.
Biocompatible electronic implants can dissolve in fluid without posing any threat to the body. Implants can be used to fight infection, monitor vital signs, deliver medication, track recovery and take photographs, without requiring surgery to remove them.
Scientists have already designed a transient 64-pixel camera, and some devices are even able to generate power through movements, like a beating heart.
Transient electronics could also be a game-changer in high-tech warfare. DARPA has suggested the technology could be used for intelligence gathering and surveillance. Imagine Mission Impossible-style futuristic spy devices that can be triggered to self-destruct by an outside signal, before they can end up in enemy hands.
We're not there yet; researchers at the University of Illinois are now working on building the devices using common manufacturing practices, instead of meticulously by hand in a lab. But the goal is to mass produce electronics do their jobs, take a bow, and quietly exit stage left.