Leaf Circuits

Printed electronics have been common as the rapid fabrication technique of ubiquitous devices. However, previous techniques remain to require chemical materials and limited types of substrate materials. In addition, the durability of the printed circuit is low, it leads easily to break the circuit by bending sharply. Such limitations significantly inhibit the creativity of the users and rob expressive fabrication. We propose Leaf Circuits, a new fabrication technique of printed electronics using a metal-leaf and laser printer. Our technique allows the users easy, low-cost, rapid fabrication of printed electronics on various materials include normal paper, wooden-surface, clothes. We conducted multiple durability evaluations, and show Leaf Circuits have high durability against stretching, bending, and time degradation. Our user study shows that the users who have no experience in electronic work can design and create diverse electronic circuits during several hours workshop.