STTR Phase I: Powerless, Flexible Sensor Subfloor Mats from Natural Materials

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力涉及低成本，方便，匿名的楼层占用分析。这将通过开发一种可以与常规地板产品集成的无动力、灵活的底层地板传感器垫来实现。如果在建筑物中实施，传感器垫将有助于提高空间利用率，提高居住者的生产力和满意度，并为组织敏捷性的动态布局规划提供信息。这种传感器垫将满足小型建筑生态系统中不同各方的需求，包括地板制造商、建筑系统集成商、工作空间系统提供商、建筑师和室内设计师，以及商业建筑中的合作和业务。此外，这种具有高电输出的薄膜，如果在本项目中成功实现，将在其他应用中发现巨大的商业化潜力，例如自供电，无线粘合可穿戴电子产品和植入式医疗设备。这一提议还具有环境影响，因为它减少了碳足迹，促进了绿色天然材料的使用和可再生能源的产生。拟议的项目具有解决两个关键问题的智力优势，这两个问题可能决定占用传感器垫的技术和商业可行性。 首先，如何创建一个足够薄和灵活的传感器垫，对地板安装和行走性能没有影响。第二，如何将传感器垫产生的电输出和能量提高到足够高的水平，以满足信号分辨率和无线传输的要求？具体的研究任务和方法包括：天然纤维素材料的化学功能化，以实现高功率输出的电性能工程;传感器垫设计，以有效地将脚步转换为有限的垫厚度内的电力;集成为传感器垫定制的无线传输单元，以实现具有无线连接的自供电传感器。最终目标是开发一种无动力传感器，其电力输出和能量产生将足以维持自身并提供可辨别的数据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project involves a low-cost, convenient, anonymous floor occupancy analysis. This will be achieved by developing a powerless, flexible subfloor sensor mat that can integrate with regular flooring products. If implemented in buildings, the sensor mat will help raise space utilization, improve occupant productivity and satisfaction, and inform dynamic layout planning for organizational agility. This sensor mat will address the needs from different parties in the small building ecosystem, including flooring manufacturers, building system integrators, work space system providers, architects and interior designers, and cooperations and businesses in commercial buildings. Additionally, this thin film with high electrical output, if successfully achieved in this project, will find great commercialization potential in other applications, such as self-powered, wireless adhesive wearable electronics, and implantable medical devices. This proposal also has an environmental impact in that it reduces carbon footprint, promotes use of green natural materials and generation of renewable energy.The proposed project has the intellectual merits of addressing two key questions that could determine the technical and commercial feasibility of the occupancy sensor mat. First, how to create a sufficiently thin and flexible sensor mat that has no impact on flooring installment and walking performance. Second, how to raise the electrical output and energy generated from the sensor mat to the level that is high enough to meet the requirements of signal resolution and wireless transmission? Specific research tasks and methods include: natural cellulosic materials chemical functionalization for electric property engineering towards high power output; sensor mat design to effectively convert footsteps to electricity within a confined mat thickness; integration of wireless transmission units tailored for the sensor mat towards a self-powered sensor with wireless connectivity. The final goal is to develop a powerless sensor from which the electrical output and the energy generation will be sufficient to sustain itself and to provide discernible data.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.