3D printed interdigitated capacitor based tilt sensor

Ozioko, O., Nassar, H. and Dahiya, R. (2021) 3D printed interdigitated capacitor based tilt sensor. IEEE Sensors Journal, 21(23), pp. 26252-26260. (doi: 10.1109/JSEN.2021.3058949)

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Abstract

This paper presents a tilt sensor comprising of 3D printed capacitive sensors located at the four ends of a ‘+’ shaped channel to provide the orientation of objects by using the capacitive fluid level measurement concept. The interdigitated capacitive sensors were developed by 3D printing and the channel was filled with ecoflex and silicone oil to obtain two variants of tilt sensor. The results show a change in the capacitance of ~11.5% and ~9.53% for ecoflex and silicone oil-based sensors respectively. A drift of ~2.6% is observed for ecoflex and ~0.16% for silicone oil. Considering the lower viscosity and the lower drift, the silicone oil-based tilt sensors were further investigated and two tilt sensors with varying silicone volumes (1ml and 1.5ml) were fabricated and compared for tilt angles ranging from 0° to 30°. The result from all four interdigitated capacitive sensors in the tilt sensing structure show similar rate of change in capacitance (~0.67% per degree increase in the tilt angle) with a standard deviation of ~±0.1%. However, the sensor with higher volume of silicone oil (1.5ml) saturated at a tilt angle of ~20° which is ~10° smaller than the response of the sensor fabricated with 1ml of silicone oil (saturated at 30°). We also demonstrate the possibility of extending the sensor range by optimizing the volume of fluid and the channel’s fluid capacity. With integration of fabricated tilt sensor with a robots’ body, white cane or smart objects etc., it will be possible to obtain the information about orientation.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Dahiya, Professor Ravinder and Nassar, Mr Habib and Ozioko, Mr Oliver
Authors: Ozioko, O., Nassar, H., and Dahiya, R.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
Journal Name:IEEE Sensors Journal
Publisher:IEEE
ISSN:1530-437X
ISSN (Online):1558-1748
Published Online:12 February 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
First Published:First published in IEEE Sensors Journal 21(23): 26252-26260
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
170185Engineering Fellowships for Growth: Printed Tactile SKINRavinder DahiyaEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/M002527/1ENG - Electronics & Nanoscale Engineering
301728Engineering Fellowships for Growth: Printed Tactile SKINRavinder DahiyaEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/R029644/1ENG - Electronics & Nanoscale Engineering
304237Predictive Haptic COding Devices In Next Generation interfacesRavinder DahiyaEuropean Commission (EC)829186ENG - Electronics & Nanoscale Engineering