A domestic research team has developed a next-generation wearable platform that can continuously measure for 24 hours by utilizing ambient light as an energy source and optimizing management based on power conditions.
A research team led by Professor Kwon Kyungha from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed an adaptive wireless wearable platform that reduces battery power burden by utilizing ambient light through joint research with Dr. Park Chan-ho of Northwestern University in the United States, they noted on the 30th. The research results were published in the international journal 'Nature Communications' on the 1st.
The miniaturization and lightweighting of medical wearable devices for continuous health monitoring, such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and sweat composition analysis, remain significant challenges. In particular, optical sensors require large batteries that are heavy and bulky due to the considerable power consumption during light-emitting diode (LED) operation and wireless transmission.
The research team developed an innovative platform that utilizes ambient natural light as an energy source to solve the battery issues of medical wearable devices. This platform is characterized by the integration of three complementary light energy technologies.
The first core technology, 'Photometric Method,' is a technology that adaptively adjusts the brightness of LEDs according to the intensity of surrounding light sources. By maintaining a consistent total illumination amount by combining ambient natural light and LED light, it automatically dims the LED when natural light is strong and brightens the LED when natural light is weak. Using this technology, power consumption was reduced by 86.22% in sufficiently illuminated environments.
The second technology is 'Photovoltaic Method' technology. This goes beyond simple solar power generation to convert light from all indoor and outdoor environments into energy. In particular, an adaptive power management system automatically switches among 11 different power configurations based on the surrounding environment and battery status to achieve optimal energy efficiency. At the same time, it incorporates a technology that absorbs ambient light during the day and gradually releases it in the dark, allowing for continuous operation over 24 hours.
Additionally, data processing technology within the sensors has significantly reduced power consumption caused by wireless communication. Previously, all raw data had to be transmitted externally, but now only the necessary results are calculated and transmitted within the sensor, reducing data transmission volume by 100 times.
To verify performance, the research team tested four different environments on healthy adult subjects: bright indoor lighting, dark lighting, infrared lighting, and complete darkness. As a result, it showed measurement accuracy comparable to commercial medical devices under all conditions. It was also confirmed that accurate blood oxygen saturation measurement was possible in hypoxic experiments using a mouse model.
Professor Kwon Kyungha said, "With this technology, 24-hour continuous health monitoring will be possible, which could shift the medical paradigm from a treatment focus to a prevention focus. We expect not only cost savings in healthcare through early diagnosis but also the securing of technological competitiveness in the next-generation wearable healthcare market."
References
Nature Communications (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60911-1