PlasticArm: Realising the full potential of the Internet of Things

Flexible electronics can seamlessly integrate with everyday objects through a combination of ultra-thin form-factor, conformability, extreme low-cost and potential for mass-scale production, enabling incredible innovation.

PlasticArm is a 32-bit Arm microprocessor developed with metal-oxide thin-film transistor technology on a flexible substrate.

Arm Research and PragmatIC have been pioneering research in this area with the PlasticArm project. Now they are sharing new detail around their progress in a paper published in Nature, which discusses how they have achieved the first fully functional non-silicon Arm processor.

 “As ultra-low-cost microprocessors become commercially viable, all sort of markets will open with interesting use cases such as smart sensors, smart labels and intelligent packaging. Products using these devices could help with sustainability by reducing food waste and promote the circular economy with smart life-cycle tracking. Personally, I think that the biggest impact could be in healthcare – this technology really lends itself to building intelligent disposable health monitoring systems that can be applied directly to the skin.” said John Biggs, Distinguished Engineer, Arm Research.

PlasticArm is a 32-bit Arm microprocessor developed with metal-oxide thin-film transistor technology on a flexible substrate. For additional details, please read the Arm Community blog.



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