L’Oréal unveils new technology to monitor UV exposure

French cosmetics firm L’Oréal and designer Yves Behar have unveiled new battery-free wearable electronic sensor UV Sense at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018.

To be launched for L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay dermatological skincare brand, the new technology is designed to provide consumers with information about their individual ultraviolet (UV) exposure levels.

UV Sense follows the launch of My UV Patch, a stretchable skin sensor to monitor UV exposure that was sold to more than one million customers in 2016 across 37 countries.

L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator global vice-president Guive Balooch said: “L’Oréal research shows that overexposure to UV rays is a top health and beauty concern of consumers worldwide.

“With this knowledge, we set out to create something that blends problem-solving technology with human-centred design to reach even more consumers who require additional information about their UV exposure.”

Based on the design of My UV Patch, UV Sense is worn on the thumbnail for up to two weeks.

Measuring less than 2mm thickness and 9mm of diameter, the sensor is powered by the user’s mobile phone and activated by ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. The app provides data related to exposure levels and cautions the user of UV exposure and sun-safety habits.

Using a mobile app and near field communication (NFC) enabled technology, UV Sense translates and transfers up to 3 months of sun exposure data from the sensor.

Both UV Sense and the limited-edition My UV Patch are the results of research work of L’Oréal conducted in conjunction with MC10, a wearable technology company, and professor John Rogers at Northwestern University.