| Tag key items in the home to notify parents
| Remote health management by tracking the number of times the refrigerator is opened and closed
| 2mm chip, ultra-low power 10mW, easy installation

A domestic research team has succeeded in developing a technology that allows communication by storing information about an object on a wristwatch when the object is touched using human body communication technology. This opens the way for commercialization as it will be possible to accurately and specifically know the behavioral status of the elderly in the future.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has succeeded in developing a touch care technology that can identify a user's actions the moment they touch an object in their daily lives, using the original human communication technology it has secured.

Human body communication technology is a technology that transmits data using the human body as a medium. The research team developed the technology by creating a touch tag that can be attached to objects and configuring it as a wristband-type touch watch. The size of the tag is 2cm x 2cm.

The touch care technology developed by ETRI researchers is expected to be applied to 'elderly care services' that inform guardians whether their parents are living a normal life, contributing greatly to social welfare and improving the quality of life for the elderly.

Most existing similar technologies are based on cameras and motion sensors, and can only detect indoor activity. However, touch care technology can provide various customized services by easily attaching touch tags to objects at low cost and collecting data on behavior in daily life.
ETRI researchers have secured original patents and standardization original technologies for human-body communication technology through research and development for over 10 years. Last year, they completed chip development by implementing the original technology into a single chip, thereby laying the foundation for commercialization. ETRI's human-body communication chip is 2mm x 2mm in size.

Unlike existing wireless communication, human body communication technology is a communication technology that uses the human body as a signal transmission channel. Therefore, it is highly secure and is an intuitive communication technology that does not require complex connection procedures because communication is made through contact with the human body.

After transferring its human body communication technology to DNX Co., Ltd. last year, ETRI collaborated to develop a touch tag and touch watch.

TouchTag was developed as a sticker-type tag that users can easily attach to any object they want, and has a body communication transmission module built into it. The Touch Watch is a wristband-type watch owned by DNEX that is equipped with a human body communication chip developed by ETRI, and can receive data transmitted from the Touch Tag.
Users wear a touchwatch on their wrists and go about their daily lives. When they touch objects with touch tags attached all over the house, the behavioral information is transmitted to the touchwatch through the body, and data is collected. The collected data can be sent to a server using IoT communication and applied to elderly care services, etc. Also, if parents do not take their medicine, an alarm can sound through the watch.

Existing elderly care services have the disadvantage of being complicated to install, expensive, and difficult to obtain accurate data on users. However, touch care technology can obtain accurate data on users' intended behaviors by simply attaching touch tags to objects, making installation easy and low-cost.

Data collected using TouchTag and TouchWatch is transmitted to the server and analyzed through lifestyle patterns to determine ▲number of times medication is taken ▲number of times meals are eaten ▲number of times bathroom is used ▲TV, air conditioner, and gas usage information ▲indoor location information, etc., so it can be used as a senior citizen health management service. It can also prevent accidents by identifying critical situations and providing emergency notification services.
If this technology is used by children who are concerned about the elderly living alone, it is expected that children will be able to monitor their parents' daily lives in real time through a smartphone app.

The research team predicts that it can be applied to not only the elderly, but also the disabled, anti-theft smart keys for luxury vehicles, and capsule endoscopes. In addition, they are planning to conduct research so that it can be used without direct contact with the skin, in addition to watches. In other words, they plan to apply it to accessories, necklaces, bands, and patches, as well as shoes, socks, gloves, belts, and emblems for clothes.

To fully commercialize the touch care service, the research team is planning a pilot service at senior welfare centers operated by local governments. In addition, we plan to cooperate with construction companies and others to apply it to senior housing complexes and promote commercialization.
ETRI SoC Design Research Group Senior Researcher Park Hyung-il said, “We plan to advance human body communication technology in a way that can solve social problems by actively utilizing it in services such as care services for the elderly living alone, which are being promoted at the national level to improve the quality of life of the elderly in an aging society.”

This project is being carried out through the Daedeok Research and Development Special Zone Technology Transfer Commercialization Project of the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation. The research team has applied for 5 SCI-level papers and 17 domestic and international patents through the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Giga Korea 5G pilot project.

Meanwhile, Touch Care technology will be exhibited at MWC19, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain from the 25th, to promote the technology and seek commercialization with global companies.