Tactile recognition is among the basic survival skills of human beings, and advances in tactile sensor technology have been adopted in various fields, bringing benefits such as outstanding performance in manipulating objects and general human−robot interactions. However, promoting enhanced perception of the existing tactile sensors is limited by their sensor array arrangement and wire-connected design. Here we present a wireless flexible magnetic tactile sensor (FMTS) consisting of a multidirection magnetized flexible film (perception module) and a contactless Hall sensor (signal receiving module). The flexible magnetic film is composed of NdFeB microparticles and soft silicone elastomer microparticles, and it transfers the unambiguous transduction of external force position and magnitude into magnetic signals. Benefiting from the specific magnetization arrangement and clustering algorithm, only one Hall sensor is needed in FMTS to perceive the magnitude and position of the contact spot simultaneously with super-resolution (2.1 mm average error) on a large area (3600 mm 2 ), and the effective working distance is also greatly extended (∼30 mm), allowing for the full softness and adaptability to diverse conditions. We anticipate that this design will promote the development of soft tactile sensors and their integration into human−robot interaction and humanoid robot perception.
Separating multiple mixed wastes
in one step remains a serious challenge because mixtures often have
to be separated using a stepwise approach. Bidirectional magnetic
projection was thereby developed; the process separates mixed materials
simultaneously in a container full of paramagnetic medium by sending
the materials from the releasing position to their corresponding landing
zones upwardly or downwardly, with the aid of the resultant force
of buoyance and gravity and the magnetic force provided by a permanent
magnet placed beside the container. A mathematic model of this process
was proposed, with drag considered. The validity of the model was
experimentally proven, as the calculated trajectories and landing
zones are well correlated with the experimental outcomes. The process
can separate particles with minor density differences, and a stronger
magnetic force increases separation distances. Further, the method
was applied to separate simulated plastic wastes and real plastic
wastes and to extract aluminum from mixed construction materials.
The results show that, in the separation tests, the recovery rates
for all materials exceeded 95 wt % with impurities of no more than
5.6 wt %. This approach, which has superior maneuverability and requires
no external energy input, achieves the efficient and effective one-step
separation of mixed wastes.
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