• ETRI Journal
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.722-728
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• 2010

This paper presents the design and fabrication model of a touchpad based on a contact-resistance-type force sensor. The touchpad works as a touch input device, which can sense contact location and contact force simultaneously. The touchpad is 40 mm wide and 40 mm long. The touchpad is fabricated by using a simple screen printing technique. The contact location is evaluated by the calibration setup, which has a load cell and three-axis stages. The location error is approximately 4 mm with respect to x-axis and y-axis directions. The force response of the fabricated touchpad is obtained at three points by loading and unloading of the probe. The touchpad can detect loads from 0 N to 2 N. The touchpad shows a hysteresis error rate of about 11% and uniformity error rate of about 3%.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.121-126
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• 2012

Piezoresistive type contact force sensor array is fabricated by (111) Silicon bulk micromachining for continuous blood pressure monitoring. Length and width of the unit sensor structure is $200{\mu}m$ and $190{\mu}m$, respectively. The gap between sensing elements is only $10{\mu}m$. To achieve wafer level packaging, the sensor structure is capped by PDMS soft cap using wafer molding and bonding process with $10{\mu}m$ alignment precision. The resistance change over contact force was measured to verify the feasibility of the proposed sensor scheme. The maximum measurement range and resolution is 900 mm Hg and 0.57 mm Hg, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.28-35
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• 2015

This paper introduces a resistance scanning-type flexible tactile sensor for intelligent robots and presents the output characteristics of the sensor via signal processing. The sensor was produced via the lamination method using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (a conductive material), an insulator, and Tango-plus (an elastic material). Analog and digital signal processing boards were produced to analyze the output signal of the sensor. The analog signal processing board was made up of an integrator and an amplifier for signal stability, and the digital signal processing board was made up of an IIR filter for noise removal. Finally, the sensor output for the contact force was confirmed through experiments.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.15-22
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• 2011

Purpose: This research investigated falls due to obstacles that occur among elderly people by assessing changes in the values of plantar foot force, peak force, and plantar foot pressure in elderly subjects while they were stepping over obstacles of different heights. Methods: The subjects were 20 elderly people aged 70-80 years; Pressure was measured on flat ground(0 cm), and after installing obstacles of 8 cm and 12 cm using the F-scan system, which is a resistance-type pressure sensor. A one-way analysis of variance was performed to compare pressure on each part of the foot according to various heights after collecting data using the Tekscan program. The least significant difference test was used for the post-hoc analysis, A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The force value for the toe area (parts 1, and 2) and contact pressure increased significantly with the 12 cm obstacle (p<0.05). The peak force value and the peak contact pressure for part 1 increased significantly with the 12 cm obstacle (p<0.05). Conclusion: Larger changes appeared in the functions and structure of the foot while subjects walked over obstacles of different heights compared to flatland walking. This result suggests that people have safety strategies to prevent falls, and that there is a need for a more realistic approach through practice to overcome obstacles of various heights to prevent falls.