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Flex (bend) sensor! This sensor can detect 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 their flexed. If they’re unflexed, the resistance is about ~10KΩ. When flexed all the way the resistance rises to ~20KΩ. They’re pretty similar to FSRs so following this tutorial will get you started. You can use an analog input on a microcontroller (with a pullup resistor) or a digital input with the use of a 0.1uF capacitor for RC timing. Flex (bend) sensor, in the Adafruit store.
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How would the resistance of one of these sensors change if it were stretched between two points and pressed somewhere in between – say, in the fashion of a guitar string?
Comment by The Doctor [412/724/301/703] — July 7, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
“How would the resistance of one of these sensors change if it were stretched between two points and pressed somewhere in between – say, in the fashion of a guitar string?”
Probably not very much- they really need a fair amount of bend to work properly. I would think an FSR type sensor would better suited or I have seen sensors that look kind of like a bungee cord that change resistance when they’re stretched.
I’ve noticed that bend sensors tend to be a bit “noisy” too- but for making sensor gloves they’re awesome, especially when combined with FSR sensors on fingertips.
Comment by Honus — July 7, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
Hi,
I’m looking for several bend sensors for an University project in the biomedical field. The sensitivity is not so critical but the sensors need to be about 2 feet each. DO you have anything like that?
Thank you for your time,
Adrians
Comment by Adrians — January 21, 2010 @ 10:50 pm