As we move into a world where human-computer interaction becomes more and more important, pressure sensors that can monitor and mimic human touch may become increasingly desirable. One of the challenges facing engineers is the difficulty of designing the kind of expensive, critical sensors needed for applications such as detecting soft particles, using robotic limbs, and creating scales high – big decision. However, a group of researchers has developed a sensor that can perform all these functions. The researchers, from Penn State and Hebei University of Technology in China, wanted to develop a critical and linear sensor that would be reliable across a variety of applications, have high pressure resolution, and be able to operate under great pressure.
Cheng was inspired to develop these sensors because of his personal experience: the birth of his second daughter. Cheng’s daughter lost 10% of her body weight shortly after birth, so the doctor told her to weigh the baby every other day to check for any further weight loss or gain. Cheng tried to do this by weighing herself on an ordinary household scale, then weighed herself while holding her daughter to measure the child’s weight.
After testing several different approaches, they found that using a pressure sensor composed of a gradient micropyramid structure and a thin layer of ions to provide dynamic feedback held the most promise. However, they faced a persistent problem. The high sensitivity of microstructures decreases as the pressure increases, and these microstructures are produced by natural factors caused by uncontrolled deformation in the narrow range. Simply put, when pressure is applied to the sensor, it changes the shape of the sensor and changes the contact area between the microstructures and disrupts the reading.
To solve these challenges, the scientists designed a type of microstructure that can increase the size of the line without reducing the sensitivity – they made it flexible, so it can still work within the reduced pressure in the world, Of course.
Their study investigated the use of a CO2 laser with a Gaussian cavity to create gradient pyramidal microstructures (GPMs) for iontronic sensors, which are soft electronic devices that can mimic the sensory functions of human tissues. This method reduces the cost and complexity of the process compared to photolithography, a method that is often used to prepare solid microstructure patterns for sensors. Cheng credited Ruoxi Yang, a graduate student in his lab and the study’s first author, with driving this solution.
“Yang is a brilliant student who introduced the idea of solving this sensor problem, which is like a combination of many small parts, cleverly put together,” Cheng said. “We knew that the structure had to be microscale and have a strong structure. But it was difficult to produce or scale up the structure, and it worked with the laser system we have in our lab to make that possible. He has worked hard in the past few years and can analyze all these different parameters and can easily delete the space of parameters to find and improve the performance.
This best sensor has a fast response and recovery time and a good echo, which the team tested by detecting soft fruits, using interactive robotic hands, and creating scales and high-quality chairs. The scientists also found that the manufacturing process and the materials used by this project will be improved to simplify the performance of pressure sensors for various applications, opening up the possibility of creating iontronic sensors that alternatively, a type of sensor that uses ionic liquids such as ionic layer sensors are critical. Also helps in the future of statistics where it will be easier for parents to measure their child, these sensors will have other uses.
“We can also detect not only the wrist, but also other distant muscle parts such as the eyelids and fingers,” Cheng said. “In addition, we combine this with a management system to show that it is possible to use it for the future of social relations. Also, we are responsible for other uses in health care, available to the lost person, and this sensor could be part of a system to help him control the robot’s limbs.
Cheng said it can be used for other purposes as a sensor to measure a person’s pulse during high-stress work situations such as search and rescue after an earthquake or performing difficult and dangerous work in the field building a house.
The research team used computer simulations to help them explore the concept for the new sensor, which Cheng says was a difficult task considering all the possible solutions. This electronic aid will continue to be reviewed.
“I think that in the future it will be possible to expand the model and be able to take into account complex processes, then we can find out how to make it better,” said Cheng.
source: Penn State Materials Research Institute
