Development of Thin Shear Force Sensor Aimed at Improving QOL for Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

We have been developing a sheet type shear force sensor. It has a unique structure consisting of two flexible electrode films, a rubber ring, and a liquid electrolyte. One of the electrode films has a central electrode and the other film had four symmetrically arranged electrodes. The diameter of the sensor head was 10 mm and the thickness was about 0.7 mm. We also developed mobile measurement circuit and software for the computer. This system can handle up to four sensors simultaneously. Furthermore, we obtained experimental data by attaching the sensor to a human body using a double‐sided adhering tape.

Keywords

• shear force sensing
• shear load
• flexible electrode
• wheel chair
• prosthetics
• disabilities
• liquid electrolyte
• multi‐sensor measurement system