Der sechste Sinn – Magnetfelder verändern den Alltag

Magnetic fields are not visible. As humans we know cannot feel them. In contrast to birds, we humans do not use them for navigation. There might be even an impression that magnetic fields are of very limited relevance for our everyday life. This is in strong contrast to the fact that the magnetic field of the Earth protects life from dangerous cosmic radiation, that there are numerous magnetic field sensors, which are implemented in devices around us including electronic compasses in our cellphones, crucial component of motors in electrical cars, even level of water in our coffee machines is measured using magnetic field sensors. Our society with all known industrial and technology revolutions is not thinkable without the use of magnetic fields and magnetic field sensors. Still, this is an established fact that for thousands of years humans believed that they are not susceptible to magnetic fields. Therefore, in contrast to vision, audio or haptic perception, magnetic field as an information channel was not considered seriously for humans.
The situation changed very recently. New studies show that similar to birds, mammals including humans also feel geomagnetic fields, the property which is called magnetoception. Although this sense for humans is still to be understood, we are working on the realisation of artificial magnetoception. We design and fabricate electronic skins - magnetosensitive devices prepared on mechanically soft and compliant support, which does not disturb our everyday activity when applied to skin or integrated in a textile. Mit unserer hochempfindlichen, aber tragbaren und sogar implantierbaren Sensorplattform möchten wir die Magnetorezeption quasi in einen „Sechsten-Sinn“ verwandeln. Die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten dieser Technologie sind kaum zu überschätzen und tangieren viele wichtige gesellschaftliche Bereiche; von der Informationstechnologie, über die Halbleitertechnologie, die E-Mobilität bis zur Realisierung neuartiger Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstellen zur Hilfe bei schweren Erkrankungen.