Towards self-healing biomimetic hair flow sensor

Abstract

Some of the most sensitive sensors seen in nature are flow sensors. These consist of small hairs with receptors at the base that detect when the hair deflects. Artificial hair flow sensors try to mimic this response, creating small sensitive systems. However, the drawback of these sensors is, that if the hair break, the sensor is unusable. This paper presents the sensing part of a biomimetic artificial hair sensor, that can grow and regrow the hair if it gets damaged. The system consists of a sensor system with an extrusion channel for a hair, where a polymeric hair can be extruded. The sensing elements are four strain gauges embedded in a flexible substrate that lean on the base of the artificial hair while still allowing it to grow. The presented system is able to detect the direction of the hair bending and, therefore, detect the direction of the flow that surround the sensor.