Highly-sensitive, biomimetic hair sensor arrays for sensing low-frequency air flows

Jaganatharaja, R.K.; Bruinink, C.M.; Hagedoorn, B.M.; Kolster, M.L.; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Wiegerink, Remco J.; Krijnen, Gijs

doi:10.1109/sensor.2009.5285780

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(10 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The best of these sensors achieved sensitivities to airflow as low as 1 mm/s [12]. In addition, the researchers were able to fabricate hundreds of hair cell units into rectangular arrays [13,20]. The arrays were mostly used to increase overall capacitance (and thus sensitivity) by connecting units in parallel.…”

Section: Liu Et Al Have Already Developed Several Generations Of Piementioning

confidence: 99%

Flow field sensing with bio-inspired artificial hair cell arrays

Sarlo

Najem

Leo

2016

Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The hair cell is a biological sensor that uses microscopic hair-like structures to detect delicate motions of surrounding fluid. Inspired by this principle, an artificial hair cell (AHC) sensory method based on bio-membrane transducers is developed for airflow sensing. One-dimensional arrays built from modular AHC units measure local velocity at different points in a flow profile. Each of the AHC units uses thinly extruded glass fibers as mechanical receptors of air velocity. Hair vibrations are converted to current via hydrogel-supported (lipid bilayers) by virtue of their mechanosensitive properties. The AHC outputs are combined into one channel, requiring a demultiplexing operation to recover individual hair cell information. This is achieved by tuning each AHC hair length to a unique frequency response and recovering individual sensor information based on the frequency content of the signal. The method is entitled Tuned Frequency Response Encoding (TFRE). When several AHC units are excited simultaneously by an airflow, the resulting signal is a superposition of each sensor's individual response. The excitation at each sensor is reconstructed from the frequencies that appear in the combined output. This technique was inspired by how organisms use hair cells with tuned responses to mechanically process flow stimuli. It takes advantage of a novel AHC's high signal-to-noise ratio (compared to other membrane-based AHCs) and linear output response to flow velocity. Initial tests with linear arrays of three AHCs show success in estimating the shape of the velocity profile from an air source that varies in position and intensity. However, temporal variations in some cases in membrane size affect sensitivity properties and make accurate flow velocity estimation difficult. Nevertheless, under stable conditions, the measured velocity profiles match closely with theoretical predictions. The implementation of the array sensing method demonstrates the sensory capability of bilayer-based AHC arrays, but highlights the difficulties of achieving consistent performance with biomolecular materials.

show abstract

Section: Liu Et Al Have Already Developed Several Generations Of Piementioning

confidence: 99%

Flow field sensing with bio-inspired artificial hair cell arrays

Sarlo

Najem

Leo

2016

Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Various iterations of the basic sensor design have been tested, achieving sensitivities to air flow as low as 1 mm/s [20]. In addition, the researchers were able to fabricate hundreds of hair cell units into rectangular arrays [63,73]. The arrays, however, were mostly used to increase overall capacitance (and thus sensitivity) by connecting units in parallel.…”

Section: Mems Based Ahcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airflow Sensing With Arrays of Hydrogel Supported Artificial Hair Cells

Sarlo

Leo

2015

Volume 2: Integrated System Design and Implementation; Structural Health Monitoring; Bioinspired Smart Materials and Systems; E

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arrays of fully hydrogel-supported, artificial hair cell (AHC) sensors based on bilayer membrane mechanotransduction are designed and characterized to determine sensitivity to multiple stimuli. The work draws upon key engineering design principles inspired by the characteristics of biological hair cells, primarily the use of slender hair-like structures as flow measurement elements. Many hair cell microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices to sense fluid flow have already been built based on this principle. However, recent developments in lipid bilayer applications, namely physically encapsulated bilayers and hydrogel interface bilayers, have facilitated the development of AHCs made primarily from biomolecular materials. The most current research in this field of "membrane based AHCs," shows promise, yet still lacks the modularity to create large sensor arrays similar to those in nature. This paper presents a novel bilayer based AHC platform, developed for array implementation by applying some of the core design principles of biological hair cells. These principles are translated into key design, fabrication and material considerations toward improved sensor sensitivity and modularity. Single hair cell responses to base excitation and short air pulses are to investigate the dynamic coupling between hair and bilayer membrane transducer. In addition, a spectral analysis of the AHC system under varying voltages and air flow velocities helps to build simple, predictive models for the sensitivity properties of the AHC. And finally, based on these results, we implement a spatial sensing strategy that involves mapping frequency content to stimulus location by "tuning" linear, three-unit arrays of AHCs.Individual AHC sensors characterization results demonstrate peak current outputs in the nanoamp range and measure flow velocities as high as 72 m/s. Characterization of the AHC response to base excitation and air pulses show that membrane current oscillates with the first three bending modes of the hair. Output magnitudes reflect of vibrations near the base of the hair. A 2 degree-of-freedom Rayleigh-Ritz approximation of the system dynamics yields estimates of 19 N/m and 0.0011 Nm/rad for the equivalent linear and torsional stiffness of the hair's hydrogel base, although double modes suggest non-symmetry in the gel's linear stiffness. The sensor output scales linearly with applied voltage (1.79 pA/V), avoiding a higher-order dependence on electrowetting effects. The free vibration amplitude of the sensor also increases in a linear fashion with applied airflow pressure (3.39 pA/m s −1 ). Array sensing tests show that the bilayers' consistent spectral responses allow for an accurate localization of the airflow source. However, temporal variations in bilayer size affect sensitivity properties and make airflow magnitude estimation difficult. The overall successful implementation of the array sensing method validates the sensory capability of the bilayer based AHC.iii DedicationTo my parents, Guillermo and Maria, and to my...

show abstract

“…Technologically it turns out to be rather difficult to make hairs with aspect ratios of more than about 10-20. We have tackled this problem by segmenting our artificial hairs with a lower part diameter of 50 µm and a top part diameter of 25 µm, reducing the hair inertial moment by about 65 % [14].…”

Section: B Hair Diameter and Viscous Dragmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crickets as Bio-Inspiration for MEMS-Based Flow-Sensing

Krijnen

Droogendijk

Dagamseh

et al. 2014

Flow Sensing in Air and Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. MEMS offers exciting possibilities for the fabrication of bioinspired mechanosensors. Over the last years we have been working on cricket inspired hair-sensor arrays for spatio-temporal flowfield observations (i.e flow-camera) and source localization. Whereas making flow-sensors as energy efficient as cricket hair-sensors appears to be a real challenge we have managed to fabricate capacitively interrogated sensors with sub-millimeter per second flow sensing thresholds, to use them in lateral line experiments, address them individually while in arrays, track transient flows, and use nonlinear effects to achieve parametric filtering and amplification. In this research insect biologists and engineers have been working in close collaboration, generating a bidirectional flow of information and knowledge, beneficial to both. E.g. where the engineering has greatly benefitted from the insights derived from biology and biophysical models, the biologists have taken advantage of MEMS structures allowing for experiments that are hard to do on living material.

show abstract

Highly-sensitive, biomimetic hair sensor arrays for sensing low-frequency air flows

Cited by 9 publications

References 6 publications

Flow field sensing with bio-inspired artificial hair cell arrays

Flow field sensing with bio-inspired artificial hair cell arrays

Airflow Sensing With Arrays of Hydrogel Supported Artificial Hair Cells

Crickets as Bio-Inspiration for MEMS-Based Flow-Sensing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About