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66 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2023 Stretchable circuits, also referred to as elas- tic circuits or even "elastronics," are a subset of the venerable flexible circuits that have enabled countless numbers of today's elec- tronics products, from toys to smartphones to the International Space Station. is most recent "member" of the interconnection fam- ily—stretchable circuits—has been designed and engineered to be resiliently bent, twisted, and/or stretched in support of the end prod- uct's need without negatively affecting its elec- trical function. e idea of creating an interconnecting cir- cuit that can be stretched and resiliently (or forcibly) returned to its original position has been around for many years. Ones that caught Stretching Conductors— and Design Possibilities my attention when the industry first began to "pile on" the concept by creating circuits on elastomeric base films were those where the circuit was formed in an accordion-like fash- ion. is was used to allow access to electron- ics housed in file cabinet-like drawers since at least the 1970s and, on a much larger scale, the jetways used to get passengers on and off passenger planes. You can see the undulating cables hanging beneath the jetways. However, the pursuit of using elastomeric substrates for creating stretchable circuits arguably began in earnest in Europe, funded by the European Union's shared scientific funding called Project STELLA, which ran from February 2006 to January 2010. I was for- Flexible Thinking by Joe Fjelstad, VERDANT ELECTRONICS