Heart and neurological diseases pose a major risk to the lives of the population. The development of information technologies contributes to the creation of conditions for improving the level of telemedicine and thus to increasing health care. The Internet of Things and Telemedicine have already made significant progress in the area of healthcare. The research of printed electronics is very promising not only for the possibility of the market success with the possibility of high attractiveness of new products, but also for the possibility of application of mass industrial production due to low-cost and large-area production. The use of innovative approaches to the production of flexible biocompatible sensory structures for biosignal measurement provides a competitive advantage and the potential to enter the market of wearable electronics. The main objective of the project, based on previous experience of the applicant and the team members, is to acquire new knowledge about the selected properties of sensor technology by printing technology, the research of new organic composites for bioelectrodes, the design of an electronic platform for the Internet of Things, as well as automated processing of recorded biosignals what supports telemedicine services. The originality and innovative nature of the project lies in the unique integration of complementary infrastructure and a comprehensive approach to the exploration of innovative solutions, starting with the design of printable devices, their preparation and determination of their properties in close relation to fabrication technology and implementation of sensory and biosensor applications. The project is in compliance with RIS3 intelligent specialization strategy of Slovak Republic government.

Organic electronics is very promising research field for various novel applications and the possibility to fill the gap on the market with low-cost high-end flexible devices. The properties of organic semiconductor materials such as light weight, thin film thickness, mechanical flexibility, or biocompatibility are usually mentioned. However, from the point of view of product competitiveness, organic electronics technology has far more important advantages. It provides the possibility of preparation of large-area electronic devices, a fast production process, low-temperature process, and it does not require vacuum technology at all which results in very low production costs. Organic electronics research, therefore, provides not only new original results that extend the gained knowledge, but it also leads to the development of new technologies which are applicable in industry and interesting for market. Based on previous experience of the project applicant and the team of project members the main objective of the project is aimed to acquire new knowledge on the selected properties of printing technology of integrated circuits (IC) applicable for the preparation of a flexible platform suitable for sensory applications and biosensors. The research focuses on the design of devices compatible with organic semiconductor printing technology, optimization of technology using new electrical and analytical techniques developed for this purpose, preparation of photosensitive sensor devices as well as simple circuits for signal processing. The originality and innovative nature of the project lies in the unique integration of complementary infrastructure and a comprehensive approach to exploring of innovative solutions, starting with the design of organic electronics devices, their preparation and the study of their complex characteristics in close relation to the technology parameters and leading to preparation of new sensor and biosensor applications.

Organic semiconductor (OS) materials have gained in last two decades big interest as new materials for electronic applications due to their several advantages over the conventional semiconductors. They are offering the potential for low fabrication cost, easy processing and flexibility. Organic electronics (OE) is based on the combination of new materials and cost-effective, large area production processes that open up new fields of application. Thin, light-weight, flexible and environmentally friendly electronics – that’s what OEs aims to deliver. It also enables a wide range of electrical components that can be produced and directly integrated in low cost reel-to-reel processes. Intelligent packaging, organic light emitting diodes (OLED), lighting, low cost radio frequency identification devices (RFID), transponders, roll able displays, flexible solar cells, disposable diagnostic devices or games, flexible touchscreens, and printed batteries are just a few examples of promising fields of application for OEs based on new large scale process able electrically conductive and semiconducting materials. European Commission in their Strategic Research Agenda has grouped them into five clusters. These clusters are Organic Photovoltaic, Flexible Displays, Lighting (including both OLED and electroluminescent products), Electronics and Components (including RFID, memories, batteries and other components) and Integrated Smart Systems.

OS materials can be split into three material classes – small molecules, amorphous polymers and semi-crystalline polymers. The charge transport properties largely depend on the deposition conditions like solvents, deposition technique, concentration, interfaces and so on. The charge carrier mobility of OS has improved dramatically in recent years, already matching amorphous silicon (a-Si), and is expected to approach or match polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) in coming years.

In the EU the Internet of Things (IoT) is now widely recognized as the next step of disruptive digital innovation. With the IoT, any physical and virtual object can become connected to other objects and to the internet, creating a fabric of connectivity between things and between humans and things. Recently, there has been an increasing consensus that the IoT is gathering pace and unleashing a very disruptive potential. The IoT is therefore at the core of the digitization process of the economy and society and an essential building block for the Digital Single Market.

The Internet of Things is a key growth area for the European Member States. In particular, industry is focusing on exploiting the innovation potential domestically and abroad. Organizing co-operation at different levels, co-coordinating national or European policies, establishing networking teams and increasing the mobility of individuals and ideas are therefore requirements resulting from the development of modern research in a global environment.

In this respect, an IoT Focus Area will be established in the coming two years as part of the European Commission’s R&I programme Horizon 2020, with the implementation of large-scale IoT pilots starting in 2016. It will lead not only to technology validation, but also to business models and standards validation. It is a unique approach where for the first time the “technology push” (the supply side) will be joined with the “market pull” (the demand side). In order to achieve a Single Market for the Internet of Things, where any device can plug and connect, actions are planned at various levels such as free flow of data for the IoT, guidelines for the application of the new European General Data Protection Regulation, support for IoT standards and interoperability, and development of a telecom framework conducive to an IoT single market.

The EU has set the stage to empower semiconductor manufacturing in Europe being one of the key drivers for innovation and employment and creator for answers to the challenges of the modern society. Aim of IoSense is to boost the European competitiveness of ECS industries by increasing the pilot production capacity and improving Time-to-Market for innovative microelectronics, accomplished by establishing three fully connected semiconductor pilot lines in Europe: two 200mm frontend (Dresden, Regensburg) and one backend (Regensburg) lines networking with existing highly specialized manufacturing lines. Focus is the availability of top innovative, competitive sensors and sensor systems “Made in Europe” for applications in Smart Mobility, Society, Energy, Health and Production. Today competitors are already involved in the development of sensor systems for applications in the emerging “Internet of Things”. But there is a significant gap between those forces and the capabilities to bring ideas into the high volume market fast enough. IoSense will close this gap by providing three modular flexible pilot lines being seamless integrated in the IoT value crating networks and ready to manufacture each kind of sensor system prototypes. IoSense will increase the manufacturing capacity of sensor/MEMS components in the involved pilot lines by factor of 10 while improving manufacturing cost and time by 30%. IoSense is designed to enable focused development work on technological and application oriented tasks combining with market orientation. “Design to Market Needs” will be accomplished by customer involvement, embedding all required system features to complement sensors’ functionality. Finally, the time for idea-to-market for new sensor systems is intended to be brought down to less than one year. As a result, semiconductor manufacturing will get a new boost in Europe enabling the industry with competitive solutions, securing employment and providing answers to the upcoming challenges in the IoT era.