Abstract
The development of flexible polymer monofilament fiber strain sensors have many applications in both wearable computing (clothing, gloves, etc.) and robotics design (large deformation control). For example, a high-stretch monofilament sensor could be integrated into robotic arm design, easily stretching over joints or along curved surfaces. As a monofilament, the sensor can be woven into or integrated with textiles for position or physiological monitoring, computer interface control, etc. Commercially available conductive polymer monofilament sensors were tested alongside monofilaments produced from carbon black (CB) mixed with a thermo-plastic elastomer (TPE) and extruded in different diameters. It was found that signal strength, drift, and precision characteristics were better with a 0.3 mm diameter CB/TPE monofilament than thick (∼2 mm diameter) based on the same material or commercial monofilaments based on natural rubber or silicone elastomer (SE) matrices.
Highlights
The evolution of mobile technologies and connected devices are opening new opportunities for the realization of wearable computing applications
The monofilaments failed near the grips and some debonding occurred to the glue securing the monofilament to the test frame and there was cracking of the conductive epoxy, which needs to be known when interpreting the sensor response at high levels
The Force relaxation of the Empa 0.3 mm, Merlin, and Images SI monofilaments are shown in Figure 3, where a mechanical relaxation is seen in the initial loading to 30% strain for all monofilaments
Summary
The evolution of mobile technologies and connected devices are opening new opportunities for the realization of wearable computing applications. Basing wearable sensor designs on polymers is very interesting because they can be produced in different physical forms, from flexible coatings [2] and sheets [3] to yarns [4], which can be woven into or integrated with textiles for position or physiological monitoring, computer interface control, etc. This allows tailored sensor design for different positions on the human body for specific applications.
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