A biomimetic accelerometer inspired by the cricket's clavate hair |
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Authors: | H Droogendijk M J de Boer R G P Sanders G J M Krijnen |
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Affiliation: | MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | Crickets use so-called clavate hairs to sense (gravitational) acceleration to obtain information on their orientation. Inspired by this clavate hair system, a one-axis biomimetic accelerometer has been developed and fabricated using surface micromachining and SU-8 lithography. An analytical model is presented for the design of the accelerometer, and guidelines are derived to reduce responsivity due to flow-induced contributions to the accelerometer''s output. Measurements show that this microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) hair-based accelerometer has a resonance frequency of 320 Hz, a detection threshold of 0.10 ms−2 and a dynamic range of more than 35 dB. The accelerometer exhibits a clear directional response to external accelerations and a low responsivity to airflow. Further, the accelerometer''s physical limits with respect to noise levels are addressed and the possibility for short-term adaptation of the sensor to the environment is discussed. |
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Keywords: | accelerometer cricket MEMS bio-inspired clavate hair |
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