LED Body Art at Supercon 2024: Exploring New Ways to Enhance and Illuminate Physiques
Body art, whether it's tattoos, body paint, or henna, has adorned human bodies for centuries. However, Katherine Connell, a self-proclaimed neon enthusiast, is here to shake things up!
At the 2024 Supercon, she presented an intriguing concept: light-emitting body art using LEDs—a blend of engineering, aesthetics, and sheer creativity. This modern take on body art is not only captivating to behold but also a fascinating engineering story.
Growing up in the 80s, Katherine was inspired by the neon-soaked era and yearned to glow in the dark. Yet, she was not interested in the invasive body modification often associated with such desires. So, she embarked on a mission to create a non-invasive, stick-on solution that would allow everyone to be a human disco ball.
Creating something as seemingly simple as Sprite Lights was no walk in the park. They needed to adhere tightly to the skin without causing irritation, be lightweight and slim, and be practical to wear. After several experimental approaches, Katherine managed to create these astonishing self-glowing stickers that are less than 1.5mm thick—an impressive engineering feat.
Her first attempts involved creating a synthetic skin-like material using latex, with LEDs embedded beneath. While it worked, it came with its limitations: latex allergies are common, production was labor-intensive, the designs were difficult to attach, and color-matching was challenging.
Next, she experimented with 3D-printed transparent PLA films with LEDs underneath. This was an improvement in terms of efficiency but still posed problems with sticking to the skin. Another 3D-printing venture saw her create molds to produce transparent silicone films with LEDs embedded, but this, too, proved to be labor-intensive and silicone doesn't stick easily to anything—including human skin.
During her experimentation with Galinstan, a metallic alloy, to create circuits inside flexible silicone, she made viable stretchable circuits. However, they were not very robust especially since Galinstan tends to melt at body temperature.
With power as the next challenge, Katherine turned to flexible batteries from Zinergy, which could deliver 3V and 20 mAh. She customized these flat, round batteries to be just 0.7mm thick and 55mm round, making them suitable for her stick-on devices. They use a compound similar to regular AA batteries, and the batteries are safe to place on the skin, with no risk of explosion or chemical exposure. The only drawback is that they're single-use.
Armed with her new batteries, Katherine developed her concept further. She started using commercially-available flex PCBs from JLCPCB and combined them with the flexible Zinergy batteries underneath. She also employed custom-made die-cut stickers from MakeStickers for the art layer, LED circuit layer, battery layer, and a hypoallergenic medical tape as the final layer to stick the assembly to the skin.
Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, Sprite Lights are now available to the public!
Go Beyond the Glow
Beyond simply being a cool piece of body art, Katherine's Sprite Lights showcase the great engineering story behind these astounding self-glowing stickers. As her story demonstrates, with the right dedication and self-teaching, incredible things can be achieved!
technology played a crucial role in Katherine Connell's creation of Sprite Lights, an innovative blend of art and engineering. The flex PCBs from JLCPCB, for instance, are essential components of the LED-illuminated stickers, demonstrating how advanced technology can be leveraged for creative purposes.
Artificial intelligence could also influence the future of body art like Sprite Lights. By optimizing designs, improving adhesion, and reducing production costs, AI could help make body art more accessible and inclusive, opening up a new world of possibilities for those wishing to express themselves in a unique and captivating way.
