Recently created, is the world’s first recyclable smartwatch that can dissolve in water. Several scientists from China have been thoroughly working on a prototype that could be the world’s first-ever recyclable watch that can dissolve in water.

The prototype watch is made with zinc-silver nanocomposite circuits inside a polyvinyl alcohol case. This watch can dissolve within a time span of 40 hours. The watch works like a conventional smartwatch and is based on “Transient electronics”. Such electronic items can disintegrate on demand.

BENEFIT?

The benefit of such a smartwatch is obvious.

Since the smartwatch market is on the rise globally with sales amounting to more than $1 trillion last year. As new models and versions replace the previous ones, around 53.6 million tons of electric waste per year is released.

Using transient electronics technology, recyclable smartwatches can reduce the amount of e-waste released. With ease to dispose of, this particular smartwatch can dissolve in water and reduce within two days.

SPECS & FUNCTIONING

Here, the zinc-based nanocomposite has been enriched with silver nanowires. These boost electrical conductivity. Printed circuit boards are prepared by a metallic solution onto pieces of polymer. The final device is capable of measuring heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and step count. It can transfer data to a mobile app via Bluetooth connection.

With an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen, it can display date, time, and messages. The exterior can resist sweat, but once the device is fully put in water, it can dissolve completely within 40 hours. The OLED screen, microcontroller, and a few resistors and capacitors are just left behind.

“This finding demonstrates techniques to yield high-performance electronic circuits that can be easily recycled,” one of the scientists, Huang says. Huang and his team of fellows are planning to create more of such transient devices in the future. “I hope more and more electronics companies can use these techniques for their products to help them reduce the cost of manufacturing and recycling,” Huang says.

The world’s first recyclable smartwatch sounds good, hopefully, it will perform just like a regular smartwatch or better. At least, with its degradable material, these smartwatches and other devices will help reduce e-waste and manufacturing costs.