The field of printed electronics is clearly evolving, and it is interesting to hear the perspective of people who have long been involved in the field. From time to time, Printed Electronics Now will interview some of the leaders in the field, and present their viewpoints.
 
This week, we spoke with Dr. Malcolm Thompson, executive director on NextFlex. Formed in 2015 through a cooperative agreement between the US Department of Defense (DoD) and FlexTech Alliance, NextFlex is a consortium of companies, academic institutions, non-profits and state, local and federal governments with a shared goal of advancing US manufacturing of flexible and hybrid electronics (FHE).
 
Dr. Thompson brings more than 30 years of executive experience in the display, semiconductor and telecom industries to his current role at NextFlex. He has served as the CEO, CTO and chairman of a variety of organizations, including Xerox, PARC, FlexTech Alliance and the US Display Consortium. Recent advisory roles include advisor to the National Academy of Sciences for flexible electronics, and to the Pentagon and White House Economic Advisory Council. Dr. Thompson received a Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of Brighton.
 
Printed Electronics Now:Are you seeing growth in the field of flexible and printed electronics when it comes to producing sensors?
 
Dr. Malcolm Thompson:I would say there’s tremendous growth in both the number and diversity of applications for sensors – there are many applications in monitoring all sorts of things. We’re all familiar with the athletic and medical monitors that are being developed, but it goes way beyond that. There are structural monitors, sensors for measuring stress in pipes, dams and airplane wings, all the way through to agricultural sensors. These devices can measure the amount of water in soil, as well as monitor chemicals around plants to determine contamination or assess when they’re ready to be harvested. 
 
The sheer diversity of sensor applications is staggering. They must be inexpensive so they can be produced in large numbers, and they’re designed to be consumable – they essentially biodegrade, and then you start again, which makes for a great business model. Basically, the potential applications for sensors are practically limitless.
 
Printed Electronics Now:What are some of the most interesting projects that you are seeing in the field?
 
Dr. Malcolm Thompson:Medical monitoring is one area that is really exploding. Just a few examples that have been developed include wireless EKG technology; wound monitoring, which accelerates recovery through automated oxygenation of wounds; biofluidic monitoring; and hydration monitoring for enhanced athletic performance. Again, the applications seem almost limitless in terms of the number of different types of monitors that can be implemented. The technology is in place, so it’s more a matter of determining the business model – we need to get the price right and position the device properly so that it’s ready to manufacture in large quantities.
 
Wireless sensor technology has huge implications for transformation within hospitals. Patients, especially the critically ill, are bedbound mainly because of the number of wired monitors to which they’re connected. This technology requires a tremendous number of support staff to manage it, and it’s done on an individual basis – there’s too little replication. Sensor technology in the medical space is thus transformational in the way it will change medical care in the future, especially emergency and trauma care. Situations such as the recent evacuations of patients from hospitals in Northern California due to wildfire are a stark example of the value that wireless monitoring can bring. A related aspect is monitoring of firefighters – keeping continuous tabs on their vitals via wearable sensors can help ensure they don’t become overly exhausted or physically ill.
 
Printed Electronics Now:How are NextFlex’s efforts in developing a manufacturing ecosystem faring?
 
Dr. Malcolm Thompson:The three key aspects are equipment, materials and people. We have an intense program with all our members to determine, for example, where an improved piece of manufacturing equipment is needed. We identify those gaps through the roadmaps we’ve developed, we issue a project call that cites what we need, and then we’ll fund viable proposals. The same goes for materials. 
 
Sensors are so ubiquitous that we need to be able to manufacture them in a number of different ways. Ideally, the goal is to leverage in new ways resources that already exist to produce better sensors. It’s less about inventing new materials and equipment, and more about combining the right things together – connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated components – to produce these new sensors.
 
From the people perspective, we’re highly focused on workforce development, as skilled workers are a key aspect of the ecosystem. Our FlexFactor entrepreneurship program introduces high school students to the technology – we start to expose them to what’s possible, and this gets them excited about a career path they may not have ever considered before. They’re absolutely fearless and are coming up with amazing ideas for products with practical application in real-world situations. 
 
Printed Electronics Now:What is your outlook for flexible sensors? 
 
Dr. Malcolm Thompson:The market is highly diverse. There will be a point in the near future where these sensors will have become part of our everyday lives in almost every imaginable aspect. One of the things that intrigues me is wondering what, in five years’ time, we will be talking about in terms of, ‘I wouldn’t have thought we could have done that.’ It’s genuinely difficult to say what the killer app be – there really is no killer app because this is truly ubiquitous technology that can be widely implemented at very low cost and in high volumes. 
 
It’s a wonderful challenge and outcome in terms of its potential to resolve so many problems – from ensuring pharmaceuticals don’t lose their potency to keeping tabs on produce all the way from the ground to the storehouse to the market to your refrigerator – what I like to call the continuous lifecycle.