What are flex sensors used in?

Applications. Flex sensor is used in wide areas of research from computer interfaces, rehabilitation, security systems and even music interfaces. It is also famous among students and Hobbyists.

What is an example of a flex sensor?

This flex sensor is a variable resistor like no other. The resistance of the flex sensor increases as the body of the component bends. Sensors like these were used in the Nintendo Power Glove. They can also be used as door sensors, robot whisker sensors, or a primary component in creating sentient stuffed animals.

What does a flex sensor detect?

This sensor can detect flexing or bending in one direction. They were popularized by being used in the Nintendo PowerGlove as a gaming interface. These sensors are easy to use, they are basically resistors that change value based on how much they’re flexed.

How does a flex sensor work?

As a variable printed resistor, the Flex Sensor achieves great form-factor on a thin flexible substrate. When the substrate is bent, the sensor produces a resistance output correlated to the bend radius—the smaller the radius, the higher the resistance value.

Is flex sensor analog or digital?

They convert the change in bend to electrical resistance-the more the bend, the more the resistance value. They usually in form of strip from 1″ to 5″ long that vary in resistance. The Flex sensors are analog resistors and work as variable analog voltage dividers.

What is Velostat used for?

Velostat, also known as Linqstat, is a packaging material made of a polymeric foil (polyolefins) impregnated with carbon black to make it electrically conductive. It is used for the protection of items or devices that are susceptible to damage from electrostatic discharge.

Is a flex sensor an input device?

It detects levels of light. This is an input device. A mechanical device that transfers signals to a control instrument or output device.

What does a pressure sensor detect?

A pressure sensor is an electronic device that detects, regulates, or monitors pressure, and converts perceived physical data into an electronic signal.

How sensitive is a flex sensor?

The Flex Sensor is a unique component that changes resistance when bent. An unflexed sensor has a nominal resistance of 10,000 ohms (10 K). As the flex sensor is bent the resistance gradually increases. When the sensor is bent at 90 degress its resistance will range between 30-40 K ohms.

How accurate are flex sensors?

They can be as accurate as measuring 5 degrees (depending on the configuration) but as long as you are willing to calibrate it, that is often the difficult bit. Make sure you set it up in such a way that you can replicate it and do your own tests. You may even be able to get it better than the requirements.

Is a flex sensor analog?

A flex sensor has a range from about ~10K to ~35K, that means it won’t give us a full 0-5 volt range (or 0-1023 analog value). Try to use the serial monitor below to find out what analog value you will take while you bending the sensor. It supposed to be between 700 to 900.

What can a flex sensor be used for?

A flex sensor can be used with a microcontroller to detect or measure bending. In this tutorial, I will show how to interface this sensor with an Arduino UNO and discuss some possible flex sensor applications and projects.

Can a flex sensor be used for human posture monitoring?

Human posture monitoring using Flex Sensor and Arduino – In this tutorial, you will learn how to make Human Posture Monitoring System using a Flex Sensor or Bend sensor, Arduino Board, and a 5v Buzzer.

What makes a flex sensor change its resistance?

As its name suggests, a conductive ink-based flex sensor uses a special ink whose resistance varies when bent. The ink may contain carbon or silver to make it conductive. The spacing between carbon particles are larger when bent and closer when straight which results in a change of resistance:

How big is the flex sensor in Arduino?

Usually, a Flex Sensor is made up of a variable resistive surface and the amount of resistance is varied by bending the sensor. The Flex Sensor used in this project is shown in the following image. It is about 0.6cm wide and 8cm long (including the two connectors).