Thin Film Pressure Sensor - Straight, 170mm Length

Although we all love to press buttons, especially if they’re those extra-clicky buttons that kick your finger back as they activate, sometimes projects call for more discrete methods of user interaction, allowing users to enjoy your project like magic, with the controls hidden away and simple gestures or carefully placed knocks activating various effects. This is when you need awesome discrete Buttons & Switches such as Thin Film Pressure Sensors like these, which are little 170mm Straight Sensors that can identify and measure force between 20g and 10kg. They are made in a similar way to how many Rain or Liquid Sensors are made, measuring the resistance between elements as the conductivity fluctuates, although instead of using liquids as the conducting element, the flexible PCB stretches, pushing the elements closer together or further apart, resulting in a change in resistance and being identified as pressure.

Although these can’t necessarily be labelled as long sensors, their longer size than most makes them a great choice for applications over straight areas, rather than small or large points, and this means that can be used along the edges of flat surfaces, underneath or around curves, or even wrapped around a small balloon or ball depending on what your application demands. And of course, with this kind of versatility, we can’t help but think of cool Wearable Tech’ projects that could involve sensors like this, being able to measure force around the inside or outside of an elbow, within the back of a headrest or even underneath a mousepad for some novel new zoom or volume controls. And while these are technically Force Sensors, we encourage you to experiment with them, as various actions should produce predictable results, and with dynamic and static sensing capabilities, the possibilities are quite endless once you really put your mind to it.

Finally, if you can see a lot of potential in these tiny, handy sensors, but are looking for versions with different shapes, sizes or tolerances, don’t forget to check out the entire Thin Film Pressure Sensor Range that we have to offer.

Typical Applications for Medium Straight Thin Film Pressure Sensors:

In a similar fashion to Piezo Sensors as well as many other discrete sensors, we particularly enjoy thin film pressure sensors because of the way that they can be hidden away beneath almost any soft materials, and this includes mousepads, soft bracelets, the hems in clothing and so many more unique locations in which typical buttons simply wouldn’t be convenient. This enables the creation of fun projects like e-textiles that change their patterns when you tug on your collar, discrete controls hidden beneath a mousepad or similar desktop surface, or even underneath the cushion of a chair to react when users take a seat. These are a few decent examples though, and when used with other modules like the Arduino LilyPad UNO or the ever-popular Electroluminescent Wire, these Thin Film Pressure Sensors can be used for so much more, while keeping the magic discretely hidden from all onlookers.

Additional Resources:

• If you really want to get in-depth with this sensor, as well as any other from this particular range, this DFRobot Thin Film Pressure Sensor Wiki is the place to get started, with formulas for measuring loads, sample code for Arduino, and handy insights from the experts who made them. (Code for this unit is SEN0293)

As self-proclaimed “Robo-holics”, DFRobot is a company comprised of over 100 staff members, of which 30% are engineers who love to build robots. It was started in 2008 with the goal of embracing and promoting open-source hardware, with a core focus on Arduino, Raspberry Pi and their very own LattePanda development boards. Since then, DFRobot have manufactured over 1300 unique modules, sensors and components that all work together and complement each other, allowing users like us to enjoy a full spectrum of cutting edge robotics and electronics without having to pay premium prices.

With the primary goal of developing and manufacturing great quality products, while making them accessible to as many people as possible, DFRobot are rapidly becoming one of the most common-place brands in the world of open-source robotics and electronics. With more than 1300 products developed in-house, and an impressive range of different categories and specialisations, there are few brands in the world who can compete in terms of quality, accessibility and genuine innovation.