Laboratory measurement method for the mechanical interaction between a tactile sensor and a cartonboard package – presentation and evaluation

Abstract

The importance of sensory information in product purchasing decisions has gained increasing attention in recent years. Tactile properties of packaging are usually measured with the help of trained evaluators. An objective, fast and repeatable method that describes the mechanical interaction and does not rely on a panel would have many benefits. We propose and evaluate such a method for measuring the mechanical interaction between a deformable finger-like shaped sensor and a package. Evaluation of the method shows good repeatability, the variability in the measurement result is within a few percent in most cases. The method captures indentation differences at contact between sensor and package due to measurement position and package design.

Mechanical Interaction Between a Cartonboard Package and a Tactile Sensor Depending on Position and Material

“…Measurements at a specific force may also not give all information about the packages. In Figure 7 the average BioTac response is shown at position 3B as electrode values (conductivity) [6]. Consumers often grasp packages in positions like 3-4 [4] and these positions seem to be useful for separation of materials.…”

“…The methodology used for performing the experiments follows our previous article [6]. The BioTac tactile sensor (SynTouch Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA) was combined with a uni-axial tensile tester, Lloyd LR5K (Lloyd Instruments, Fareham, UK), fitted with a 500 N load cell.…”

“…In previous work we demonstrated that the biomimetic tactile sensor picks up differences in material properties [5]. We also explored the limits of repeatability for the measurement setup used here and formulated a procedure for conducting the measurements [6]. Here we build further on that work and test the interdependence of geometry and material.…”