SBIR Phase I: Ubiquitous Data Monitoring of Touch Using Photonic Sensors

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发用于许多领域的新型触摸传感器，如健身、医疗保健和汽车用途。该系统使用特殊的光源，当外部表面受到压力时，光源内部会发生变化。这些可以非常精确，以前被用来控制机器人。拟议中的项目将其扩展到人机界面，最初的重点是开发新型可穿戴设备，用于跟踪人体运动监测。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将专注于使用弹性体材料来制造光导，这种光导可以在拉伸时改变功率输出，扩大这些高精度光子应变计的使用范围。该光子传感器矩阵由二维和三维阵列中交叉的有动力和无动力可拉伸光学光导节点组成。当这些光导接触时，它们之间耦合的光与施加的应力和应变成正比，从而定位变形并测量其幅度。该项目将解决：1)这些纤维的规模化生产；2)开发集中式电子集线器，确保与传感光纤分离；3)开发用于校准和误差最小化的鲁棒信号处理。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop new touch sensors for applications in many sectors, such as fitness, healthcare and automotive uses. The proposed system uses special light sources that change internally when pressure is applied to external surfaces. These can be extremely accurate and have previously been used to control robots. The proposed project extends this to human-computer interfaces, with an initial focus on developing novel wearables that track motion for human performance monitoring.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on using elastomeric material to create lightguides that change power output upon stretching, expanding the use of these highly accurate photonic strain gauges. This photonics sensor matrix consists of nodes of intersecting powered and unpowered stretchable optical lightguides in 2D and 3D arrays. When these lightguides contact, the light coupled between them is proportional to the applied stress and strain, localizing the deformation and measuring its amplitude. This project will address: 1) scaled production of these fibers; 2) development of centralized electronics hubs ensuring separation from sensing fibers; and 3) development of robust signal processing for calibration and error minimization.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.