JP2023100572A - Mutual and overlap capacitance based sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: the need for soft tactile sensors that conform to arbitrary smooth geometries has been a bottleneck for developing robot hands with dexterous manipulating capabilities, and adhering soft sensors for robotic purposes may often be a challenge and delamination is often an issue.SOLUTION: A mutual and overlap capacitance based sensor may include a top stretchable layer including a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern, a bottom layer including a second electrode, and a dielectric layer positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. The second electrode may have a line shape which runs perpendicular to a wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to an amplitude direction of the first electrode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

(Cross reference to related application)
This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/153,596, filed February 25, 2021, entitled "SENSOR FOR PROXIMITY, LIGHT TOUCH, AND PRESSURE-BASED GESTURE RECOGNITION." (Attorney Docket No. HRA-50529), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/136,428, filed Jan. 12, 2021, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING SOFT." US Provisional Patent Application No. 17/174,226, filed Feb. 11, 2021, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING SOFT SENSORS THAT CONFORM TO ARBITRARY SMOOTH GEOMETRIES” (Attorney Docket No. HRA-49574.01), all of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

The need for soft tactile sensors that conform to arbitrary smooth geometries has been a bottleneck for developing robotic hands with fine manipulation capabilities. This field requires the sensor to be like soft skin and conform to the shape of the fingertips and/or palm. However, although much development has been made in the field of soft sensors, most of them are still in the research stage. For practical commercial applications, some other requirements have to be met, especially in the readout electronics sector. For example, bonding soft sensors for robotics can often be a challenge, and delamination is often a problem.

Furthermore, many pressure sensor arrays have difficulty detecting optical contact because the signal amplitude is very small, whereas highly sensitive force sensors saturate at high force interactions.

According to one aspect, a flexible sensor manufacturing system that conforms to any smooth geometry includes an upper stretchable layer that includes a flexible sensor electrode set made of an elastic material. The system also includes a lower flexible layer consisting of a thin sheet of suitable metal patterned using photolithography. The lower flexible layer is configured to conform to any smooth geometry. The upper stretchable layer is bonded to the lower flexible layer to form the sensor substrate. The sensor substrate is configured as a stretchable adhesive film that allows strong adhesion to any smooth geometry.

According to another aspect, a method of fabricating a soft sensor that conforms to any smooth geometry includes fabricating an upper stretchable layer that includes a soft sensor electrode set made of an elastic material. The method also includes fabricating the lower flexible layer from a thin sheet of a suitable metal patterned using photolithography. The lower flexible layer is configured to conform to any smooth geometry. The method further includes bonding the upper stretchable layer to the lower flexible layer to form a sensor substrate. The sensor substrate is configured as a stretchable adhesive film that allows strong adhesion to any smooth geometry.

In accordance with yet another aspect, a system for manufacturing soft sensors that conform to any smooth geometry includes an upper stretchable layer containing electrode sets of soft sensors made of an elastic material for robustness to robotic devices. It includes a sensor substrate configured as a stretchable adhesive film that allows for secure adhesion. The sensor substrate also includes a lower flexible layer consisting of a copper film patterned using photolithography.

Mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors include an upper stretchable layer including a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern; a lower layer including a second electrode; and a dielectric layer positioned therebetween.

The second electrode may have a linear shape extending perpendicular to the wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to the amplitude direction of the first electrode. The first electrode can be positioned such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and the first portion of the first electrode can include a contour. The first electrode is positioned such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and a portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. can be done. A first portion of the first electrode may include a contour and a portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode.

A first portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode and a second portion of the second electrode may include a covered area covered by the first electrode. . A first portion of the second electrode can be associated with a first taxel of a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, and a second portion of the second electrode can be associated with a mutual and overlapping capacitance It can be associated with a second taxel of the base sensor. The processor provides capacitance readings from the first taxel and readings from the second taxel that are within the first range, within the second range, or between the first range and the second range. Based on the values, a sensing mode can be determined. A first taxel can be in proximity to a second taxel. The sensing mode can be mutual capacitance mode or overlap capacitance mode.

Mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors were positioned between a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern, a bottom layer containing a second electrode, and between the first electrode and the second electrode. and a dielectric layer. The second electrode may have a linear shape extending perpendicular to the wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to the amplitude direction of the first electrode.

The first electrode can be positioned such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and the first portion of the first electrode can include a contour. The first electrode is positioned such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and a portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. can be done. A first portion of the first electrode may include a contour and a portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. A first portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode and a second portion of the second electrode may include a covered area covered by the first electrode. . A first portion of the second electrode can be associated with a first taxel of a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, and a second portion of the second electrode can be associated with a mutual and overlapping capacitance It can be associated with a second taxel of the base sensor.

A system for mutual and overlapping capacitive sensing includes an upper stretchable layer including a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern, a lower layer including a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode. and a dielectric layer positioned between the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors. The processor calculates the capacitance from the first taxel of the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor within the first range, within the second range, or between the first range and the second range. Determining the sensing mode of the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors based on the readings and the readings from the second taxel of the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors in the vicinity of the first taxel. can.

The second electrode may have a linear shape extending perpendicular to the wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to the amplitude direction of the first electrode. The first electrode can be positioned such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and the first portion of the first electrode can include a contour. The first electrode is positioned such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and a portion of the second electrode may include an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. can be done.

The novel features believed characteristic of the present disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification and drawings. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and certain drawings may be shown in an exaggerated or generalized form for the sake of clarity and brevity. However, the disclosure itself, as well as its preferred mode of use, further objects and advancements, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. deaf.
[0014] FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a sensor substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 5A-5D are exemplary overviews of the fabrication of a top elastic layer of a sensor substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the upper elastic layer of the sensor substrate, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 4B is an example view of a lower flexible layer of a sensor substrate, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the lower flexible layer of the sensor substrate, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 4 is an exemplary overview of joining an upper stretchable layer and a lower flexible layer, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 4 is an exemplary overview of bonding a sensor substrate to any smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a sensor substrate and attaching the sensor substrate to a robotic device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a flexible sensor that conforms to any smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 5 is an exemplary overview of mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors with smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor with smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 4 is an exemplary overview of exemplary mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors having smooth geometries, according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 10 is an operational diagram associated with mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 1 is a component diagram of an exemplary system for mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensing, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensing, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Exemplary computer-readable medium or device comprising processor-executable instructions configured to embody one or more of the offerings described herein, according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is a diagram. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary computing environment in which one or more of the offerings described herein may be implemented, according to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure; FIG.

I. SYSTEM OVERVIEW Referring now to the drawings, the representations are for purposes of illustrating one or more exemplary embodiments, and not for purposes of limitation, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor substrate 100 according to an embodiment; FIG. In one embodiment, the manufacturing system includes a flexible sensor that conforms to any smooth geometry, with high mechanical robustness and a high level of electronic sensor signal integrity for the sensor signal output by the flexible sensor. can be configured to fabricate the sensor substrate 100 that provides .

Manufacturing systems can take advantage of flexible sensor technology that enables device/circuit board fabrication and the fabrication of advanced adaptive tactile sensors. In one embodiment, flexible sensor electrode sets that can be bonded onto the sensor substrate can use conventional solderable materials to provide the compatibility needed for proper robotic device sensing (e.g., robotic finger sensing). It may be made of a flexible material. This configuration can also provide an interface with readout electronics.

As described in more detail below, the manufacturing system can be configured to utilize an additional set of top electrodes that can be made of a stretchable conductor material that renders the top of the sensor soft and flexible. The system can also be configured to form the lower flexible layer 104, which can consist of a thin sheet of suitable metal that has been patterned using photolithography. In one embodiment, a suitable thin sheet of metal may comprise a copper film patterned using photolithography. The lower flexible layer 104 is configured to conform to any smooth geometry having a smooth portion with a small radius of curvature, providing a high level of conformance with a suitable copper film thickness and copper pattern size and shape. can be achieved by

Photolithography is also known in the art to be performed in the manufacture of passive electronic components such as surface mount resistors that are mounted directly on circuit boards. The manufacturing system can be easily resized using photolithography as a patterning process to create features in the nanometer to centimeter range (used in microchips) and beyond. Process advantages can be provided. Also, device sizes manufactured using photolithographic techniques are scalable over a range of millimeters to meters. The substrate for this manufacturing process may be configured as a stretchable adhesive film that allows for easy mounting and strong adhesion to robotic devices such as robotic fingers/hands. Thus, the use of manufacturing methods performed by the manufacturing system and described in more detail below are readily interfaced with electronic equipment and provide the mechanical and electrical integrity that may be required for commercial grade products. It enables the production of soft sensors that can be

As shown in FIG. 1, sensor substrate 100 may include upper stretchable layer 102 that may be bonded to lower flexible layer 104 . The bottom of sensor substrate 100 may be configured to include adhesives such that the underside of bottom flexible layer 104 allows sensor substrate 100 to accommodate one or more types of sensors into any geometric shape. / can be strongly adhered to the top. As such, the sensor substrate 100 can be configured to adhere one or more types of sensors to robotic applications, such as robotic hands, fingers, and/or additional types of geometric shapes.

FIG. 2A is an exemplary schematic illustration of the fabrication of upper elastic layer 102 of sensor substrate 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the dielectric layer 202 can be cast as a bottom portion of the upper stretchable layer 102 . Dielectric layer 202 can be cast in a mold using a resilient material. Accordingly, the upper portion of the upper elastic layer 102 can provide a level of elasticity and flexibility that can be useful for various robot sensing operations.

It is understood that a wide range of commercially available materials can be utilized to cast the dielectric layer 202 of the upper stretchable layer 102, ranging in elastic modulus from 100 kPa (super soft) to 1-2 MPa (fairly rigid). be done. The material can closely mimic the mechanical properties of human skin. For example, a soft elastic material such as Ecoflex, Dragon Skin, etc. can be utilized to cast the dielectric layer 202 of the upper stretchable layer 102 . Depending on the configuration, dielectric layer 202 may also have structures such as pillars, pyramids, or domes, and thus voids, to fine-tune mechanical properties as desired.

With continued reference to FIG. 2A, once the dielectric layer 202 is cast, the manufacturing system can pattern the stretchable electrode material into a stretchable electrode pattern 204 using a selected patterning process. Non-limiting exemplary materials that may be used include, but are not limited to, carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires, conductive polymers, and/or conductive particle composites. Non-limiting exemplary pattern processes that may be used include, but are not limited to, spray coating, shadow masking, and/or screen printing.

In one embodiment, after patterning the stretchable electrodes into the stretchable electrode pattern 204, the encapsulation is performed using the same or similar elastic material used to cast the dielectric layer 202 of the upper stretchable layer 102. A layer 206 can be cast onto the stretchable electrode pattern 204 . For example, sealing layer 206 can be cast in a mold using Ecoflex, Dragon Skin, or other elastic material.

A sealing layer 206 is cast over the stretchable electrode pattern 204 as shown in FIG. 2B, which is a cross-sectional view of the upper stretchable layer 102 of the sensor substrate 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As mentioned above, the stretchable electrode pattern 204 is disposed over the dielectric layer 202, which may be composed of an elastic material.

Referring to the lower flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100, FIG. 3A shows an exemplary schematic of the lower flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100, according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the lower portion of the lower flexible layer 104 , and consequently the sensor substrate 100 , can be configured as a flexible adhesive sheet 302 . In one configuration, flexible adhesive sheet 302 can be configured as a flexible adhesive sheet that can be flexible for firm adhesion to any of a variety of smooth geometric shapes. The flexible adhesive sheet 302 may be configured as a double-sided acrylic tape sheet adhesive substrate. As an illustrative example, flexible adhesive sheet 302 may include tape dimensions of 12 inches by 12 inches. It is understood that many different sized sheet and tape dimensions can be utilized, which can include varying mechanical stiffness and chemical stability.

With continued reference to FIG. 3A, a thin sheet of copper film 304 can be laminated on top of the flexible adhesive sheet 302 . After laminating copper film 304 onto flexible adhesive sheet 302 , dry film photoresist 306 can be laminated on top of copper film 304 . In one configuration, the manufacturing system can be configured to send instructions to laminate the dry film photoresist 306 onto the copper film 304 utilizing a thermal laminator (not shown). In one embodiment, dry film photoresist 306 may be exposed through a mask using an ultraviolet light source.

In one exemplary embodiment, the manufacturing system may be configured to develop the exposed portions of the dry film photoresist pattern 308 using a developer. The exposed portions of dry film photoresist pattern 308 may be utilized as a mask to etch unwanted portions of the copper of copper film 304 that has already been laminated onto flexible adhesive sheet 302 . Accordingly, the flexible adhesive sheet 302 may include etched copper 310 leaving exposed portions of each of the dry film photoresist patterns 308 on the flexible adhesive sheet 302 .

In one embodiment, after etching the unwanted copper of the copper film 304 and leaving the etched copper 310 on the soft adhesive sheet 302, the manufacturing system removes the dry film photoresist that remains on the etched copper 310. The photoresist can be removed from pattern 308 . After removal of the photoresist, the patterned copper film can remain on the etched copper 310 of the lower flexible layer of the sensor substrate. The patterned copper film can be configured as patterned copper electrodes 312 that can be operatively connected to a control board (not shown) associated with the sensor substrate 100 .

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of lower flexible layer 104 of sensor substrate 100, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In one exemplary embodiment, a top layer of elastic material 314 may be cast onto flexible adhesive sheet 302, which may be configured as an adhesive substrate. As mentioned above, the flexible adhesive sheet 302 may include patterned copper electrodes 312 that can rest on the etched copper 310 of the lower flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100 .

FIG. 4 is an exemplary schematic diagram of the bonding of the upper stretchable layer 102 and the lower flexible layer 104, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In an exemplary embodiment, after manufacturing the upper elastic layer 102 of the sensor substrate 100 and the lower flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100, the manufacturing system adheres the upper elastic layer 102 to the lower flexible layer 104 to form the sensor substrate. 100 can be configured. As shown, the dielectric layer 202, which may be comprised of an elastic material, and the layer of elastic material 314 of the lower flexible layer 104 are formed by casting an upper layer of elastic material 314 onto the adhesive substrate of the lower flexible layer 104. can be firmly adhered between Accordingly, a top layer of elastic material 314 can be bonded to the lower flexible layer 104 to form the sensor substrate 100 .

FIG. 5 is an exemplary schematic diagram of bonding sensor substrate 100 to an arbitrary smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, after fabrication of the sensor substrate 100, the lower portion, configured as a soft adhesive sheet 302, can be configured to be rigidly adhered to a robotic device, such as a robotic finger/hand 502. FIG. In other words, once sensor fabrication is complete, sensor substrate 100 with an adhesive bottom surface is used to adhere sensor substrate 100 to any smooth geometric shape, such as robot finger/hand 502 . The patterned copper electrodes 312 may include traces extending to a circuit board associated with the sensor substrate 100 to interface with readout electronics. In one configuration, soldering traces can form a robust connection between the patterned copper electrodes 312 and the circuit board to transmit sensor signals.

In some embodiments, the patterned copper electrodes 312 are connected using crimp connectors on each electrode connection trace and/or using flexible flat cable connections (example connections not shown). can be interfaced with copper tape. In another embodiment, copper tape and/or flexible flat cable connections may be soldered onto the circuit board. However, it is understood that various types of connection techniques can be utilized to operatively interface the patterned copper electrodes 312 with the control substrates associated with the sensor substrate 100 .

The manufacturing system can reduce the number of interconnects requiring a flexible electrode-rigid circuit interface by at least half, or more in the case of asymmetric circuits, improving signal integrity by a significant amount. In some configurations, this feature can further enhance the signal-to-noise ratio when the sense terminals of the readout hardware are connected using copper solder connections. The use of photolithography allows the fabrication of very complex and high density bottom electrode patterns in asymmetric designs where only one set of electrode patterns needs to be more complex than the other.

In one embodiment, a stretchable conductor material with an electrode material (such as copper) can be utilized to achieve higher signal integrity by moving half or more of the sensor to the solid electrode material area. This completes the connection of the excitation terminals of the readout electronics to the upper stretchable layer 102 and the connection of the sense terminals to the patterned copper electrodes 312 of the lower flexible layer 104 . This feature ensures higher signal integrity and a clearer sensed signal delivering a better signal-to-noise ratio compared to sensors with both top and bottom electrodes made of stretchable conductor material. .

II. Method for Fabricating Flexible Sensors that Conform to Arbitrary Geometries FIG. 6 illustrates a process flow of a method 600 for fabricating a sensor substrate 100 and mounting the sensor substrate 100 to a robotic device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. It is a diagram. 6 is described with reference to the components of FIGS. 1-5, it should be understood that the method 600 of FIG. 6 may be used with other systems/components. In one embodiment, the method 600 is contained as computer-executable instructions stored in electronic memory and accessed and executed by a processor of a computing system to operably control a mechanical device (e.g., machine), sensor The upper stretchable layer 102 of the substrate 100 and the lower flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100 can be manufactured and the bonding layer comprising the sensor substrate 100 can be attached to a robotic device.

Method 600 may begin at block 602 , where method 600 may include casting dielectric layer 202 . In one embodiment, the manufacturing system may begin the manufacturing process to manufacture the upper stretchable layer 102 of the sensor substrate 100 by casting the dielectric layer 202 as the bottom of the upper stretchable layer 102 . As noted above, dielectric layer 202 can be cast in a mold using a resilient material. In some configurations, dielectric layer 202 may have structures such as pillars, pyramids, or domes to fine-tune mechanical properties as desired.

The method 600 may proceed to block 604 , where the method 600 may include fabricating the stretchable electrode pattern 204 . In one embodiment, the manufacturing system can manufacture the stretchable electrode pattern 204 with the selected material using the selected patterning process. For example, spray coating, shadow masking, and/or screen printing can be utilized to pattern carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires, conductive polymers, and/or conductive particle composites as materials for stretchable electrode patterns 204 . .

The method 600 may proceed to block 606 , where the method 600 may include casting the sealing layer 206 to complete the fabrication of the upper elastic layer 102 . In one embodiment, encapsulation layer 206 is cast over stretchable electrode pattern 204 using the same or similar elastic material used to cast dielectric layer 202 of upper stretchable layer 102 . good too. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B, the encapsulation layer 206 can be cast over the stretchable electrode pattern 204 included on the dielectric layer 202 to complete the fabrication of the top stretchable layer 102 .

The method 600 can proceed to block 608 , where the method 600 may include manufacturing the flexible adhesive sheet 302 . In one embodiment, the manufacturing system may begin the manufacturing process to manufacture the bottom flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100 by manufacturing the flexible adhesive sheet 302 as the bottom of the bottom flexible layer 104 . The flexible adhesive sheet 302 may be configured as a double-sided acrylic tape sheet configured with varying mechanical stiffness and chemical stability.

The method 600 may proceed to block 610 , where the method 600 may include laminating a copper film 304 onto the flexible adhesive sheet 302 . In one embodiment, the manufacturing system can laminate a thin sheet of copper film 304 on top of the flexible adhesive sheet 302 . In one embodiment, the copper film 304 can be patterned using photolithography. This may allow the fabrication of passive electronic components such as surface mount resistors that are mounted directly on the circuit board associated with sensor substrate 100 . This capability allows the ability to use alternative processes such as composite shadow mask patterning to design complex electrode designs that otherwise cannot be manufactured.

The method 600 may proceed to block 612 where the method 600 may include laminating a dry film photoresist 306 on top of the copper film 304 . After laminating the copper film 304 onto the flexible adhesive sheet 302 , the manufacturing system can utilize a thermal laminator to laminate a dry film photoresist 306 on top of the copper film 304 .

The method 600 may proceed to block 614 , where the method 600 may include etching unwanted portions of the copper film 304 . In one exemplary embodiment, the manufacturing system uses the exposed portions of the dry film photoresist pattern 308 as a mask to etch unwanted portions of the copper from the copper film 304 already laminated onto the flexible adhesive sheet 302 . can do. Accordingly, the flexible adhesive sheet 302 may include etched copper 310 leaving portions of the dry film photoresist 306 on the flexible adhesive sheet 302 .

The method 600 may proceed to block 616, where the method 600 may include allowing the patterned copper electrodes to remain on the etched copper 310 to complete the fabrication of the lower flexible layer 104. In one embodiment, the manufacturing system may remove the photoresist to leave patterned copper electrode 312 . Patterned copper electrodes 312 may include traces that extend to a circuit board associated with sensor substrate 100 . Thus, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lower flexible layer 104 can be manufactured with a flexible adhesive sheet 302 that includes patterned copper electrodes 312 contained on etched copper 310 . The lower flexible layer 104 may be configured to conform to any smooth geometry having smooth portions with small radii of curvature, providing a high level of conformance with a suitable copper film thickness and copper pattern. It can be achieved by size and shape.

The method 600 may proceed to block 618 where the method 600 may include bonding the upper stretchable layer 102 to the lower flexible layer 104 to form the sensor substrate 100 . In one embodiment, after fabricating the upper elastic layer 102 of the sensor substrate 100 (block 606) and fabricating the lower flexible layer 104 of the sensor substrate 100 (block 616), the manufacturing system removes the upper elastic layer 102 from the lower flexible layer. 104 to form the sensor substrate 100 . In one embodiment, the upper layer of elastic material 414 may include an adhesive coating that may enable strong adhesion between the dielectric layer 202 of the upper elastic layer 102 and the layer of elastic material 414 of the lower flexible layer 104 . Accordingly, the upper stretchable layer 102 can be bonded to the lower flexible layer 104 to form the sensor substrate 100 .

The method 600 may proceed to block 620, where the method 600 may include mounting the sensor substrate 100 to the robotic device. In an exemplary embodiment, after sensor fabrication is complete, sensor substrate 100 with an adhesive underside can be placed on any geometric shape and firmly adhered to any geometric shape. . As described above with respect to FIG. 5, once sensor fabrication is complete, the sensor substrate 100 with an adhesive underside may be used to adhere the sensor substrate 100 to any smooth geometric shape, such as a robot finger/hand 502. used for

Because the manufacturing system utilizes the flexible adhesive sheet 302 as the base of the sensor substrate 100, strong adhesion to any smooth geometry, such as the robotic finger/hand 502, allows the robotic device to interact with the physical world. This is achieved with little risk of delamination during the process. Furthermore, this feature also ensures strong adhesion between the patterned copper electrodes 312 on the sensor substrate 100 and the upper elastic layer built on the substrate.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a soft sensor that conforms to arbitrary smooth geometries, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 7 is described with reference to the components of FIGS. 1-5, it should be understood that the method 700 of FIG. 7 may be used with other systems/components. The method 700 may begin at block 702, where the method 700 may include fabricating the upper stretchable layer 102 including a soft sensor electrode set made of an elastic material.

The method 700 can proceed to block 704, where the method 700 includes fabricating the lower flexible layer 104 of a patterned copper film using photolithography. In one embodiment, lower flexible layer 104 is configured to conform to any smooth geometry. The method 700 can proceed to block 706 where the method 700 includes bonding the upper stretchable layer 102 to the lower flexible layer 104 to form the sensor substrate 100 . In one embodiment, sensor substrate 100 is configured as a stretchable adhesive film that allows strong adhesion to any smooth geometry.

The following includes definitions of selected terms used herein. The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components that may be included within the scope of the term and used in practice. The examples are not meant to be limiting. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the components discussed herein may be combined with other components, omitted or organized with other components, or organized into different architectures. will understand that it may be

As used herein, a "processor" processes signals and performs general computing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by a processor may comprise digital signals, data signals, computer instructions, processor instructions, messages, bits, bitstreams, or any other means that may be received, transmitted, and/or detected. In general, the processor may be a wide variety of different processors, including single and multi-core processors and co-processors and other single- and multi-core processor and co-processor architectures. A processor may include various modules to perform various functions.

As used herein, the term "memory" may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory includes, for example, read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM). electrically erasable PROM). Volatile memory includes, for example, random access memory (RAM), synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM. (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory can store an operating system that controls or allocates resources of the computing device.

As used herein, the term "disk" or "drive" refers to magnetic disk drives, solid state disk drives, floppy disk drives, tape drives, Zip drives, flash memory cards, and/or memory sticks. may Further, the disc may be a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), a CD recordable drive (CD-R drive), a CD rewritable drive (CD-RW drive), and/or Or it may be a digital video ROM drive (digital video ROM, DVD-ROM). The disk may store an operating system that controls or allocates resources of the computing device.

As used herein, a "bus" refers to an interconnected architecture operably connected to other computer components within or between computers. A bus may transfer data between computer components. A bus may be a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch, and/or a local bus, among others.

Aspects discussed herein may be described and implemented in the context of non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media includes computer storage media and communication media. For example, flash memory drives, digital versatile discs (DVDs), compact discs (CDs), floppy disks, and tape cassettes. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may be volatile and non-volatile, removable and removable, implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, modules, or other data. May include impossible media.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary overview of a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor 800 with smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of FIG. 8 can include a top layer 802 and a bottom layer 804 . According to one aspect, the top layer 802 can be, for example, the top stretchable layer 102 described above (eg, including one or more of the encapsulation layer 206, the stretchable electrode pattern 204, and the dielectric layer 202), The bottom layer 804 can be the bottom flexible layer 104 described above (eg, including one or more of the layer of elastic material 310, the patterned electrode 312, and the flexible adhesive sheet 302). As seen in FIG. 4, the dielectric layer 202 is positioned between the stretchable electrode pattern 204 and the patterned electrode 312, or alternatively between the first and second electrodes.

Top layer 802 may include first electrode 812 . Bottom layer 804 may include a second electrode 814 . As seen in FIG. 8, the second electrodes 814 extend perpendicular to the wavelength direction 816 of the first electrodes 812 and parallel to the amplitude direction (ie, line aa') of the first electrodes 812. It has a linear or rectangular shape. The upper stretchable layer 102 can be the stretchable electrode pattern 204 described above and can include first electrodes 812 that can be arranged or configured in a serpentine pattern. Stated another way, the first electrode 812 can be shaped like a sine wave.

In this way, the first electrode 812 has an architecture that allows for both proximity sensing and pressure sensing without the need for electrode switching, while providing proximity location along both horizontal axes. be able to. This can be achieved, for example, using a combination of soft stretchable electrodes and copper film electrodes that take advantage of the advantages of both materials. The conformability and flexibility are due to the dielectric layer 202 being made of an elastomer (eg Ecoflex 00-30) commonly used in the production of face masks for movie props, and the top electrode being made of a highly stretchable carbon composite. It can be realized by The bottom layer may contain copper film electrodes for robust interconnection with readout hardware.

This shape can be further optimized according to specific application requirements for sensitivity of either sensing mode, which means that other shapes are contemplated. For example, an electrode design that maximizes the length of the top electrode contour 818 and the overlap area between the top and bottom electrodes can be considered. As another example, an electrode design with both overlapping and exposed areas can be utilized.

First electrode 812 may be positioned such that first portion 822 of first electrode 812 overlaps second electrode 814 . First electrode 812 may be arranged such that first portion 822 of first electrode 812 may include a contour. First electrode 812 may be positioned such that first portion 832 of second electrode 814 includes exposed areas not covered by first electrode 812 . A second portion 834 of the second electrode 814 may include a covered area covered by the first electrode 812 , and the first portion 832 of the second electrode 814 is covered by the first electrode 812 . may include non-exposed areas.

A first portion 832 of the second electrode 814 may be associated with a first taxel of a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, and a second portion 834 of the second electrode 814 may be associated with a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor. It may be associated with a second taxel of capacitance-based sensors.

A processor, described in detail below, reads a capacitance reading from a first taxel that is within a first range, within a second range, or between the first range and a second range; Based on readings from two taxels, the sensing mode can be determined. A first taxel can be in proximity to a second taxel. The sensing mode can be mutual capacitance mode or overlap capacitance mode.

The sensor may utilize a combination of capacitive sensing techniques: 1) mutual capacitance for proximity sensing and 2) overlap capacitance for pressure sensing. The sensor can use a novel electrode architecture with both exposed and overlapping electrode areas, thereby allowing both mutual and overlapping capacitive modes simultaneously, as shown in FIG. Become.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor with smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 9 shows that as long as the bottom electrode is exposed, the mutual capacitance changes even if the electrodes are not coplanar (eg, along line aa'). 1) For mutual capacitance, according to one aspect, the length of the edge profile 818 of the top electrode 812 is maximized, since most of the electric field coupling between the excitation and sensing electrodes occurs at the edges. and 2) for overlap capacitance, the overlap area 822 can be maximized. A serpentine pattern can be implemented for the .

The sensors or capacitive sensors described herein: 1) allow both proximity and pressure sensing without requiring electrode switching, while providing proximity location along both horizontal axes; and 2) the combination of a soft stretchable electrode and a copper film electrode that exploits the advantages of both materials. Conformance and flexibility are provided by an elastomeric dielectric layer (e.g., 202) commonly used in the production of face masks for movie props and a top electrode made of a highly stretchable carbon composite. . The bottom layer may contain copper film electrodes for robust interconnection with readout hardware. The manufacturing process combines traditional methods and makes it easy to work with curves and scales depending on the application.

As seen in FIG. 9, a second portion 834 of the second electrode 814 can include a covered area 834 covered by the first electrode 812, and the first portion 832 of the second electrode 814 can include: It may include exposed areas 832 that are not covered by first electrode 812 . In this way, mutual and overlap capacitance readings can be provided by the same mutual and overlap capacitance based sensor. First electrode 812 and second electrode 814 are vertically stacked, but due to covered area 834 and exposed area 832 , non-coplanar electrodes, indicated at 910 , when human finger 912 approaches sensor 800 . Mutual capacitance still exists between them.

When finger 912 contacts first electrode 812 and applies a downward force, the overlap capacitance between first electrode 812 and second electrode 814 may increase, thereby increasing A reading is created.

According to one aspect, the sensor 800 of FIG. 8 can be made of a soft, stretchable material, and thus can conform to the smoothly curved surfaces of robotic links. The sensor 800 can also be manufactured in different sizes from the fingertip to the torso due to the scalable method of manufacturing process. Based on this sensor's dual mutual and overlapping capacitive sensing capabilities, it may be possible to recognize gentle touch gestures that are common in affectionate physical interactions. Additionally, the spatio-temporal information of the 2D capacitive data obtained from the sensors can be applied using deep neural network architecture.

The contribution of this sensor 800 can be doubled. First, the multimodal capacitance-based sensor architecture can detect proximity and near-zero force contacts as well as large forces. Multimodal sensing is pressure sensing based on overlapping capacitance, which depends on the distance between two overlapping electrodes (e.g., the distance between the second portion 834 of the second electrode 814 and the first electrode 812). , and proximity sensing based on mutual capacitance (also known as projected capacitance) that can be used in touchscreen devices. obtain. Stated another way, this sensor uses a combination of capacitive sensing techniques: 1) mutual capacitance for proximity sensing and 2) overlap capacitance for pressure sensing.

Mutual capacitance is the capacitance between two electrodes (eg, excitation and sensing) and can be used in touch screens. Typically, the electrodes can be placed in the same plane so that the coupling electric field projects out-of-plane from the excitation electrode and back to the sensing electrode. As a human finger approaches the sensor, the electric field couples with the finger and the coupling Cs between the capacitive electrodes decreases. The magnitude of the capacitance decrease increases as the finger approaches the sensor surface. For a mutual-capacitance sensor to work, both the excitation and sensing electrodes are exposed to allow the electric field to project outward and couple with the finger.

Overlap capacitance is the capacitance C _s =eA/d that is inversely proportional to the distance between two overlapping electrodes, where e is the dielectric constant, A is the overlap area, and d is the distance between the electrodes. . When a normal force is applied, a decrease in d results in an increase in capacitance _Cs .

Mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor 800 may utilize a novel electrode architecture having both exposed and overlapping electrode areas as shown in FIGS. Allowing both wrap capacitive sensing modes to occur simultaneously. FIG. 9 shows that the mutual capacitance changes even if the electrodes 812, 814 are not coplanar as long as the bottom electrode is exposed. The choice of the serpentine pattern of the top electrode results in: 1) For mutual capacitance, most of the electric field coupling between the excitation and sensing electrodes occurs at the edges, so that the length of the edge profile 818 of the top electrode is 2) for overlap capacitance, the overlap area 822 can be maximized. However, this shape can be further optimized according to specific application requirements for sensitivity of either sensing mode.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an exemplary mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor with smooth geometry, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; Capacitance-based sensor array architectures for physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) applications that can measure proximity, near-zero force (NZF) contact, and pressure between a robot and a human body are, for example, array architectures can be provided by duplicating the sensor of FIG.

According to one aspect, the lower layer can be attached to a rigid robot body portion, so that conformability but not stretchability is taken advantage of, using a carbon composite for the upper electrode, while the lower electrode A thin copper film can be used. Additionally, the copper electrode may be connected to the sense terminal of the readout circuit, as copper may be more critical to signal quality than the excitation terminal. The sensor can utilize a crimp connector for the top electrode made of stretchable carbon composite.

According to one aspect, the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor 800 can include upper and lower layers of vertically extending strip-shaped electrodes 814 separated by a dielectric layer 202 . Each intersection of a pair of upper and lower electrodes may provide a capacitance measurement and may be considered or grouped as a "taxel." One implementation can have 160 taxels over an area of 20 cm x 15 cm, but the manufacturing process can be scalable, so small (e.g. fingertips) and large (e.g. limbs and torso) areas may be suitable for installation in both Mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors 800 can use stretchable carbon composites for the top electrode and elastomers for the dielectric layer to make the sensor stretchable and conformable, while the readout A thin copper film can be used for the bottom electrode for robust interconnection to the hardware and thus better signal integrity.

Fabrication of mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors can include I) patterning of copper film electrodes, II) fabrication of flexible top electrode and dielectric, and III) bonding of top and bottom segments. This process can be highly scalable. Also, a large area sensor (for the entire body) can be manufactured as easily as a small area sensor (for the fingertip) by utilizing dry film photoresist that can be laminated onto a large substrate.

In step I, according to one aspect, a 100 μm thick copper film can be laminated onto a 170 μm thick elastic adhesive sheet 3M-9495LE. A laminator (eg, Akiles Pro-Lam) can then be used to heat laminate the dry film photoresist at a temperature of 110° C. at a speed setting of 10 mm/sec. A UV lamp (365 nm) can then be used to expose the photoresist through a shadow mask for 60 seconds. The exposed photoresist can then be developed using a developer solution of 1% (wt/wt) NaHCO3. Once exposed, a ferric chloride solution (eg, MG Chemicals) can be used to etch the copper film. Finally, a 1% (wt/wt) NaOH solution can be used to strip the photoresist. The copper electrodes have extensions that can later be soldered directly to the readout system.

Step II may involve molding the dielectric layer using a soft elastomer (eg, Ecoflex 00-30) in a mold having an inverted pyramid pattern. The pyramid may have a square base of 1.5 mm by 1.5 mm, a height of 1.5 mm, and a draft angle of 10 degrees. The pitch of the pyramids may be 1 mm from edge to edge. This dielectric architecture, in contrast to solid dielectrics, provides greater sensitivity to normal forces and can be further tuned for specific application elastic moduli. Ecoflex Part A and Part B can be mixed in equal amounts and poured into a mold. The uncured elastomer can then be degassed in a vacuum chamber until all air can be removed. The elastomer can then be cured at 60°C for 20 minutes. It may be possible to cure the elastomer at room temperature for 4 hours. Once cured, the stretchable carbon composite can be patterned over the surface of the dielectric using a shadow mask to form the top electrode. The shadow mask can be cut using a laser cutter (eg Dremel LC40). The carbon composite is a mixture of 100 mg carbon nanofibers (e.g. Sigma-Aldrich 719781), 300 mg carbon black (e.g. Alfa Aesar-H30253), and 2 gm Ecoflex 00-30 Part A and 2 gm Part B. can be formed by The complex can be mixed using a Thinky planetary centrifuge (eg, ARE 310) at 2000 rpm for 5 minutes. The carbon composite pattern can then be cured at 60° C. for 20 minutes. The terminals of the electrode traces can be wrapped using standard crimp connectors and soldered to the readout circuitry in the same manner as the copper electrode traces. Finally, an encapsulating layer of the same elastomer can be formed over the exposed carbon composite electrode.

Step III may involve applying a thin layer of uncured Ecoflex 00-30 mixture onto the copper film electrode and placing the top segment thereon. The assembly can then be cured at 60° C. for 20 minutes to ensure strong adhesion between the top and bottom segments. The adhesive substrate 3M-9495LE on which the sensor can be constructed adheres to a smooth curved surface as shown in FIG.

One problem with this sensor architecture can be the ambiguity between close pressure and small pressure, as shown in FIG. When a human finger is near or barely touching the sensor (eg, NZF contact), the mutual capacitance decreases compared to the baseline value. As finger pressure increases, the measured capacitance increases and eventually exceeds the baseline due to the increase in overlap capacitance. Therefore, when the measured capacitance falls below the baseline, it can be difficult to distinguish between close and small pressures using only a single taxel capacitance value. However, this ambiguity can be resolved using information from nearby taxels stimulated by the proximity effect.

In this regard, the recognition of contact gestures with proximity, NZF touch, and large pressure can be recognized using the system 1200 of FIG. In class gesture recognition problems, including air strokes), NZF (e.g. light touch, tickling), and pressure-based (e.g. hard strokes and massage) gestures, time-series capacitive data from sensors are fed with 3D convolutional neural networks ( It can be realized by applying deep neural network (DNN) architectures such as 3D Convolutional Neural Network (3DCNN) and Convolutional Long-Short Term Memory (ConvLSTM). One experiment between the two models showed that 3DCNN showed higher accuracy than ConvLSTM with the test dataset obtained separately from the training dataset.

FIG. 11 is an operational diagram associated with mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; As noted above, there may be ambiguity between proximity and light touch when the taxel capacitance is below the baseline. Again, this ambiguity can be resolved by applying pattern recognition techniques to the time-dependent 2D capacitance data from all nearby taxels.

See, for example, the response of an array of 3x3 taxels when a finger approaches the middle taxel of a 3x3 taxel grid and applies small and medium pressures. During proximity, the capacitance of the intermediate taxel decreases, while the taxel in the vicinity experiences a smaller decrease due to the greater distance. When a finger touches an intermediate taxel, neighboring taxels still continue to exhibit reduced capacitance. From this point, when the finger applies a small pressure, the capacitance of the intermediate taxel begins to increase as the thickness of the dielectric decreases further reducing the capacitance of neighboring taxels. This continues until the point where the intermediate taxel capacitance returns to baseline values. Thus, using information from taxels in the vicinity, the system of FIG. 12 can distinguish between proximity and small pressures with the same sensor array. In this manner, the processor and mode determiner of FIG. 12 can distinguish between different types of touches or gestures from the user. Two DNN architectures that have been used for similar recognition problems using spatiotemporal data can include ConvLSTM and 3DCNN. However, other models, including classical ones such as the Hidden-Markov Model (HMM), can also be used.

FIG. 12 is a component diagram of an exemplary system 1200 for mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensing, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. A system 1200 for mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensing may include the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor 800 of FIG. and dielectric layer 202 . The first electrode 812 can be the stretchable electrode pattern 204 configured in a serpentine pattern or shaped as a sinusoidal wave. System 1200 for mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensing may include processor 1220 , memory 1222 , and mode determiner 1230 .

A mode determiner 1230 can be implemented via the processor 1220 and memory 1222 to determine the sensing mode of mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors. Mode determiner 1230 can determine the sensing mode to be mutual capacitance mode or overlap capacitance mode, for example. According to one aspect, the mode determiner 1230 determines the capacitance reading from the first taxel of the mutual and overlap capacitance based sensor 800 and/or the mutual and overlap capacitance based sensor 800 The sensing mode can be determined based on the capacitance reading from the second taxel of .

When the capacitance reading from the first taxel is within the first range, mode determiner 1230 sets the mode of operation of mutual and overlap capacitance-based sensor 800 to overlap capacitance mode. can do. When the capacitance reading from the first taxel is within the second range, mode determiner 1230 sets the mode of operation of mutual and overlap capacitance-based sensor 800 to mutual capacitance mode. be able to. When the capacitance reading from the first taxel is between the first range and the second range, mode determiner 1230 determines the capacitance reading from the second nearby taxel before setting the operating mode. can be considered.

Specifically, during finger proximity, the capacitance of the first taxel decreases, while the nearby taxel decreases less than the first taxel, so the mode determiner 1230 Based on capacitance readings from a first taxel that are between one range and a second range, and based on nearby taxels that decrease less than the first taxel between subsequent readings. , the operating mode can be set as mutual capacitance mode.

Furthermore, when the finger applies a small pressure (e.g., NZF), the capacitance of the first taxel increases while neighboring taxels decrease, thus mode determiner 1230 determines the first range and based on capacitance readings from a first taxel that are between the second range and from a first taxel that is increasing while readings from neighboring taxels are decreasing , the operating mode can be set to overlap capacitance mode.

According to one aspect, capacitance measurements at 16×10=160 taxels can be recorded at a rate of 8 Hz through a serial port with a baud rate of 115200, but any number of total taxels and different refresh rates can be can be implemented. The baseline capacitance magnitude at each taxel can be recorded at the beginning of the sequence and subtracted from subsequent measurements, effectively "zeroing" the reading.

A training sequence for each gesture can be obtained by continuously recording a single sequence, repeating the gesture 30-40 times with an interval of several seconds. Data from all 160 taxels can be recorded during the tickling gesture training sequence. The test data sets can also be obtained separately by the same person performing the gesture with fewer repetitions on different days and using similar procedures.

To generate the training data set, each sequence can first be split into active sections, where gestures can be performed, and baseline sections, where there can be no interactions. Given the noise level, a frame may be marked as active if the difference from the baseline value of at least one taxel can be greater than or equal to the threshold. The training data set can be generated by scanning the active section using a sliding window of width w with additional p frames of padding from the preceding baseline section for early detection of interactions. can. Active sections shorter than wp may be discarded.

Two DNN architectures have been tested, 3DCNN and ConvLSTM, but other architectures can be implemented. These models were chosen because they have been used to model spatio-temporal information in RGBD data similar to sensor-acquired haptic data. The training stop condition may be ai+1<aI+0.1, and aI(%) may be the training accuracy after the i-th epoch.

3D CNN
A two-layer 3D CNN with a kernel size of 3 × 3 × 3 is followed by four fully connected dense layers with rectified linear unit (ReLU) activation functions, whose outputs undergo a softmax function to obtain the base In addition to the line (no interaction) case, it is possible to recognize 6 gestures. The 3D CNN layers can be fully connected, each layer performing 30 sets of CNN operations on a tensor of size 16×10×w, resulting in an output tensor of size 16×10×w×30. The dense layer size can be determined to achieve high accuracy while preventing overfitting.

A common choice for forecasting problems involving time series data is a recurrent neural network (RNN) such as Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM). The LSTM unit can take as input the measured value Xt at time t and the output ht−1 of the previous unit and compute the output ht. To avoid the problem of diminishing gradients and preserve long-term dependencies, LSTMs use a set of gates that set unit importance using state memory.

ConvLSTM
The sensor can use a variant of LSTM called ConvLSTM as part of the DNN architecture for gesture recognition. In ConvLSTM, both input-state transitions and state-state transitions can be replaced by 2D convolution operations. The rest of the architecture may be based on a "peephole connection" variant of the standard LSTM. Spatial and temporal information can be preserved by 2D convolution and LSTM architectures, respectively.

According to one aspect, each frame undergoes 30 sets of 2D convolution operations before being fed to the LSTM unit. Therefore, the input and output of the LSTM unit have a size of 16x10x30. The sensor can use two layers of LSTM followed by a fully connected dense layer of the same size and activation function as the 3D CNN model. However, in this case, the 2D array can be expected to preserve both spatial and temporal relationships, so, as in the 3DCNN, only the output of the last LSTM unit is included in the dense layer, as opposed to the 3D array. network can be supplied. As a result, ConvLSTM requires very few parameters to train on dense networks.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method 1300 for mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensing, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. According to one aspect, a method 1300 for mutual and overlap capacitance-based sensing includes receiving 1302 a capacitance reading from a first taxel of a mutual and overlap capacitance-based sensor. and determining whether the capacitance reading is within the first range 1304a, within the second range 1304b, or between the first range and the second range 1304c; setting 1306 the operating mode to mutual capacitance mode based on the capacitance readings within the second range and setting the operating mode to overlap capacitance based on the capacitance readings within the second range. setting 1308 to capacitive mode and taxel in a second vicinity of mutual and overlapping capacitive-based sensors when the capacitive reading is between the first range and the second range; receiving 1310 a capacitance reading from a second nearby taxel, and the capacitance reading from a second nearby taxel falling below the capacitance reading from the first taxel between subsequent readings. and determining 1312 whether the capacitance reading from the first taxel is between the first range and the second range, and the second setting 1314 the mode of operation to mutual capacitance mode based on capacitance readings from taxels in the vicinity of and between the first range and the second range and in the second vicinity of based on the capacitance reading of the first taxel rising while the capacitance reading from the taxel at the first taxel decreases during subsequent readings, the mode of operation is changed to overlap capacitance setting 1316 to mode.

Yet another aspect includes a computer-readable medium containing processor-executable instructions configured to implement an aspect of the technology presented herein. Aspects of a computer-readable medium or computer-readable device devised in these ways are shown in FIG. It includes a readable medium 1408 having computer readable data 1406 encoded thereon. This encoded computer readable data 1406, such as binary data containing multiple 0's and 1's as shown at 1406, is then configured to operate according to one or more of the principles described herein. It includes a set of processor-executable computer instructions 1404 as described. In this implementation 1400, processor-executable computer instructions 1404 may be configured to perform method 1402, such as method 1300 in FIG. In another aspect, processor-executable computer instructions 1404 may be configured to implement a system such as system 1200 in FIG. Many such computer-readable media configured to operate in accordance with the techniques presented herein can be devised by those skilled in the art.

As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system," "interface," and the like generally refer to any computer-related entity, hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or intended to refer to running software. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process, processing unit, object, executable file, thread of execution, program, or computer executing on a processor. By way of illustration, both the application running on the controller and the controller may be components. One or more components residing within a process or thread of execution and components may be localized on one computer or distributed between two or more computers.

Moreover, the claimed subject matter uses standard programming or engineering techniques to generate software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. Of course, many modifications to this configuration may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter.

FIG. 15 and the discussion below provide a description of a suitable computing environment for implementing one or more aspects of the offerings described herein. The operating environment of Figure 15 is only one example of a suitable operating environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the operating environment. Exemplary computing devices include personal computers, server computers, handheld or laptop devices, mobile devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), media players, multiprocessor systems, consumer electronics. , minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments including any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Generally, aspects are described in the general context of "computer-readable instructions" being executed by one or more computing devices. Computer readable instructions may also be distributed over computer readable media, as discussed below. Computer-readable instructions are implemented as program modules, such as functions, objects, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), data structures, etc., that perform one or more tasks or implement one or more abstract data types. may Typically the functionality of the computer readable instructions is combined or distributed as desired in various environments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a system 1500 including a computing device 1512 configured to implement one aspect provided herein. In one configuration, computing device 1512 includes at least one processing unit 1516 and memory 1518 . Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device, memory 1518 may be volatile such as RAM, non-volatile such as ROM, flash memory, or a combination of the two. This configuration is indicated in FIG. 15 by dashed line 1514 .

In other aspects, computing device 1512 includes additional features or functionality. For example, computing device 1512 may include additional storage such as removable or non-removable storage including, but not limited to, magnetic storage, optical storage, and the like. Such additional storage is indicated in FIG. 15 by storage 1520 . In one aspect, computer readable instructions for implementing an aspect provided herein reside in storage device 1520 . Storage device 1520 may store other computer-readable instructions for implementing an operating system, application programs, and the like. Computer readable instructions, for example, may be loaded into memory 1518 for execution by processing unit 1516 .

As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" includes computer storage media. Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions or other data. Memory 1518 and storage 1520 are examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) or other optical storage devices, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage devices or others. or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and that can be accessed by computing device 1512 . Any such computer storage media may be part of computing device 1512 .

The term "computer-readable media" includes communication media. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions or other data in a "modulated data signal" such as carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term "modulated data signal" includes a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.

Computing device 1512 includes input devices 1524 such as a keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, infrared camera, video input device, or any other input device. Output devices 1522 such as one or more displays, speakers, printers, or any other output device may also be included with computing device 1512 . Input devices 1524 and output devices 1522 may be connected to computing device 1512 via wired connections, wireless connections, or any combination thereof. In one aspect, input or output devices from another computing device may be used as input device 1524 or output device 1522 for computing device 1512 . Computing device 1512 may contain communication connection(s) 1526 to facilitate communication with one or more other devices 1530 , eg, through network 1528 .

Although the present subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as exemplary aspects.

Various aspects of operations are provided herein. The order in which one or more or all of the operations are described should not be construed to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternate orders will be understood based on this description. Moreover, not all manipulations are necessarily present in each aspect provided herein.

As used in this application, "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or." Further, the inclusive "or" may include any combination thereof (eg, A, B, or any combination thereof). In addition, as used in this application, "a" and "an" are generally taken to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or the context makes clear that they are directed to the singular. . Additionally, at least one of A and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. Furthermore, the words "include," "having," "has," "with," or variations thereof may be used in either the detailed description or the claims. To the extent such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising."

Further, unless otherwise specified, "first," "second," etc. are not intended to imply temporal aspects, spatial aspects, ordering, or the like. Rather, such terms are simply used as identifiers, names, etc. for features, elements, items, and the like. For example, a first channel and a second channel generally correspond to channel A and channel B, or two different or two identical channels, or the same channel. Further, the terms "comprising," "comprise," "including," "include," etc. generally mean, but are not limited to, comprising or including.

From the above description, it should be clear that various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware. Moreover, various exemplary embodiments employ non-transitory machine-readable storage, such as volatile or non-volatile memory, that can be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations detailed herein. It may also be embodied as instructions stored on a medium. A machine-readable storage medium may include any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine, such as a personal or laptop computer, server, or other computing device. Non-transitory machine-readable storage media therefore excludes temporary signals, but includes read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and similar storage media. It may include both volatile and non-volatile memory, including but not limited to.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the disclosure. Similarly, any flowcharts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo-code, etc., may be substantially represented in a machine-readable medium, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly indicated; or represent various processes that may be executed by a processor.

It will be appreciated that the various implementations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives or variations thereof, can be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also, various presently unanticipated or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements can continuously be made by those skilled in the art, which are also within the scope of the appended claims. is intended to be encompassed by

Claims (20)

A mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, comprising:
an upper stretchable layer including a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern;
a lower layer comprising a second electrode;
and a dielectric layer positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. 2. The mutual and overlapping capacitance of claim 1, wherein the second electrode has a linear shape extending perpendicular to the wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to the amplitude direction of the first electrode. base sensor. 3. The first electrode is arranged such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and the first portion of the first electrode includes a contour. Mutual and overlapping capacitance based sensors according to claim 1. The first electrode is configured such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and a portion of the second electrode includes an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. 2. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 1, wherein the sensor is arranged in a . 2. The inter-and-over of claim 1, wherein said first portion of said first electrode comprises a contour and a portion of said second electrode comprises an exposed area not covered by said first electrode. Lap capacitance based sensor. A first portion of the second electrode includes an exposed area not covered by the first electrode and a second portion of the second electrode is a covered area covered by the first electrode. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 1, comprising: wherein the first portion of the second electrode is associated with a first taxel of the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, and the second portion of the second electrode is associated with the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor; 7. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 6, associated with a second taxel of the wrap capacitance-based sensor. a processor reading capacitance readings from the first taxel within a first range, within a second range, or between the first range and the second range; 8. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 7, wherein the sensing mode is determined based on readings from Taxel. 8. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 7, wherein the first taxel is in proximity to the second taxel. 9. The mutual and overlap capacitance based sensor of claim 8, wherein the sensing mode is mutual capacitance mode or overlap capacitance mode. A mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, comprising:
an upper stretchable layer including a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern;
a lower layer comprising a second electrode;
a dielectric layer positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode;
A mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, wherein the second electrode has a linear shape extending perpendicular to the wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to the amplitude direction of the first electrode. 3. The first electrode is arranged such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and the first portion of the first electrode includes a contour. Mutual and overlapping capacitance based sensors according to claim 11. The first electrode is configured such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and a portion of the second electrode includes an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. 12. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 11, wherein the sensor is arranged in a . 12. The inter-and-over of claim 11, wherein said first portion of said first electrode comprises a contour and a portion of said second electrode comprises an exposed area not covered by said first electrode. Lap capacitance based sensor. A first portion of the second electrode includes an exposed area not covered by the first electrode and a second portion of the second electrode is a covered area covered by the first electrode. 12. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 11, comprising: wherein the first portion of the second electrode is associated with a first taxel of the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, and the second portion of the second electrode is associated with the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor; 16. The mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor of claim 15, associated with a second taxel of the wrap capacitance-based sensor. A system for mutual and overlapping capacitive sensing, comprising:
A mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor, comprising:
an upper stretchable layer including a first electrode configured in a serpentine pattern;
a mutual and overlapping capacitance based sensor comprising a lower layer comprising a second electrode and a dielectric layer positioned between said first electrode and said second electrode;
A capacitance from a first taxel of said mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensor within a first range, within a second range, or between said first range and said second range Sensing the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors based on readings and readings from a second taxel of the mutual and overlapping capacitance-based sensors in the vicinity of the first taxel. A system for mutual and overlapping capacitive sensing, comprising: a processor that determines modes. 18. The mutual and overlapping capacitance of claim 17, wherein the second electrode has a linear shape extending perpendicular to the wavelength direction of the first electrode and parallel to the amplitude direction of the first electrode. A system for sensing. 3. The first electrode is arranged such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and the first portion of the first electrode includes a contour. 18. A system for mutual and overlapping capacitive sensing according to claim 17. The first electrode is configured such that a first portion of the first electrode overlaps the second electrode and a portion of the second electrode includes an exposed area not covered by the first electrode. 18. The system for mutual and overlapping capacitive sensing according to claim 17, wherein the system is arranged in a .