Contact-Resistive Sensing of Touch and Airflow Using A Rat Whisker
Contact-Resistive Sensing of Touch and Airflow Using A Rat Whisker
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DOI：
10.1109/biorob.2018.8487886
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发表时间：
2018-08
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
A. Yang;M. Hartmann;S. Bergbreiter
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
A. Yang;M. Hartmann;S. Bergbreiter
老鼠在很大程度上依赖胡须的触觉信息来获取周围环境的信息。胡须的长度上没有传感器。取而代之的是，胡须的机械变形是通过其底部的感受器来感知的。本研究介绍了一种专门为模拟生物老鼠胡须的传感而开发的微型传感器。该传感器对触摸和/或气流在两个轴上产生的弯矩做出响应。基于悬臂梁理论的解析模型设计了传感器，并用有限元分析对模型进行了验证。然后，使用微细加工模具制造传感器，并将其集成到基于Arduino的电路中，以实现简单的信号采集。目前的工作开始开发技术，以便能够在1X尺度上调查大鼠振动系统的重要工程方面。除了在新的工程应用中的潜在用途外，该传感器还可以帮助神经科学家了解大鼠三叉神经-颤动通路。
Rats rely heavily on tactile information from their whiskers to acquire information about their surroundings. A whisker has no sensors along its length. Instead, mechanical deformation of the whisker is sensed via receptors at its base. The present study introduces a micro-sensor developed specifically to imitate the sensing of biological rat whiskers. The sensor responds to bending moments resulting from touch and/or airflow in two axes. The sensor was designed based on analytical models from cantilever beam theory, and the models were validated with finite-element analysis. Sensors were then fabricated using micro-milled molds and integrated into an Arduino-based circuit for simple signal acquisition. The present work begins to develop the technology to allow investigation of important engineering aspects of the rat vibrissal system at Ix scale. In addition to its potential use in novel engineering applications, the sensor could aid neuroscientists in their understanding of the rat vibrissal-trigeminal pathway.