Design and Signal Processing of a Wearable Shear Force Sensor Utilizing Capacitance and Resistance Modes

Abstract

Abstract Wire connection sub-assemblies in automobiles can cause installers to awkwardly position themselves to complete the connection during the manufacturing of the vehicle. This decreases the likelihood of a successful connection which in turn causes malfunction in the vehicle after the vehicle has left the plant. A potential solution to this problem is a wearable device that detects the amount of force being used while connecting wire sub-assemblies. Our approach to this wearable device is a hand glove that can detect the amount of normal and shear force applied to the hand when a load is applied. The challenge with this is differentiating between shear and normal forces. In this paper we aim to tackle this challenge by exploring capacitance and resistive approaches to measuring forces using flexible materials and parallel plate capacitors as well as contact resistive approaches. The flexible material will favor deformation in a specific direction which will allow us to differentiate between when a shear load has been applied, and when a normal load has been applied. Using this flexible sensor will allow us to characterize the amount of normal and shear loading required for a successful connection and improve the rate at which successful connections are made.