Micro-Lace Electrode-Based Skin Conductance Sensor for Integrated Physical and Mental Activity Monitoring: A Design Innovation Perspective

Abstract

Skin conductance (SC) serves as a vital physiological indicator reflecting both physical and mental activities. Traditional SC sensors often face challenges in continuous monitoring due to sweat accumulation, limiting their application in high-sweat- production conditions and hindering comprehensive activity assessment. This paper presents a novel micro-lace electrode-based SC sensor designed to overcome these limitations by enabling rapid sweat evaporation and preventing accumulation at the skin-electrode interface. From a design innovation perspective, we integrate this advanced sensing technology into a holistic framework for monitoring and interpreting human activities, emphasizing user experience, service design, and potential business model innovations. Our approach not only validates the sensor's superior performance in continuous, long-term monitoring of diverse physical activities (e.g., cycling, walking) but also demonstrates its unique capability in discerning subtle phasic SC signals indicative of mental states (e.g., cognitive arousal during meetings, IQ tests). Through a series of rigorous experiments, including both laboratory-controlled settings and real-world daily activity tracking over 11 hours, we showcase the sensor's high water permeability (99.4%), rapid recovery responses, and strong correlation with sweat loss and activity levels. Furthermore, we explore the cross-disciplinary implications of this technology, highlighting its potential to inform personalized health management systems, enhance human-computer interaction, and facilitate the development of adaptive smart environments. This work contributes to the advancement of wearable sensing technologies by offering a robust, user-centric solution for integrated physical and mental activity monitoring, paving the way for novel applications in healthcare, wellness, and beyond.