Recent Developments in Bio-Inspired Sensors Fabricated by Additive Manufacturing Technologies

In our work on micro-fabricated hair-sensors, inspired by the flow-sensitive sensors found on crickets, we have made great progress. Initially delivering mediocre performance compared to their natural counter parts they have evolved into capable sensors with thresholds roughly a factor of 30 larger than of their natural equivalents. Due to this disparity, and also instigated by our work on fly-halteres inspired rotation rate sensors and desert locust ear-drum mimicking membrane struc- tures, we have analysed the differences in performance between natural and man-made sensors. We conclude that two major drawbacks of main-stream micro-fabrication are the lack of easily applicable soft materials, as well as the limitations imposed by photolithography based fabrication with respect to freeform 3D shaping of structures. Currently we are targeting additive manufacturing for biomimetic sensor structures and in this contribution we report initial results of 3D printed sensor structures.

[1]  Clément Gosselin,et al.  Large-scale 3D printing of ultra-high performance concrete – a new processing route for architects and builders , 2016 .

[2]  M. Koehl,et al.  Sniffing by a silkworm moth: wing fanning enhances air penetration through and pheromone interception by antennae. , 2000, The Journal of experimental biology.

[3]  Joseph H. Solomon,et al.  Biomechanical models for radial distance determination by the rat vibrissal system. , 2007, Journal of neurophysiology.

[4]  G. Dehnhardt,et al.  Hydrodynamic Perception in Seals and Sea Lions , 2014 .

[5]  Fan-Gang Zeng,et al.  An Electronic Prosthesis Mimicking the Dynamic Vestibular Function , 2006, Audiology and Neurotology.

[6]  Jürgen Tautz,et al.  Reception of particle oscillation in a medium — an unorthodox sensory capacity , 1979, Naturwissenschaften.

[7]  David A. Hutchins,et al.  A Simple, Low-Cost Conductive Composite Material for 3D Printing of Electronic Sensors , 2012, PloS one.

[8]  Remco Sanders,et al.  3D printed bio-inspired angular acceleration sensor , 2015, 2015 IEEE SENSORS.

[9]  Manos M. Tentzeris,et al.  A novel strain sensor based on 3D printing technology and 3D antenna design , 2015, 2015 IEEE 65th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC).

[10]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[11]  N Ando,et al.  Odour-tracking capability of a silkmoth driving a mobile robot with turning bias and time delay , 2013, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[12]  Tateo Shimozawa,et al.  Cricket Wind Receptors: Thermal Noise for the Highest Sensitivity Known , 2003 .

[13]  T. Shimozawa,et al.  Structural scaling and functional design of the cercal wind-receptor hairs of cricket , 1998, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[14]  Daniel M. Vogt,et al.  Embedded 3D Printing of Strain Sensors within Highly Stretchable Elastomers , 2014, Advanced materials.

[15]  Johan W. Berenschot,et al.  Fabrication of superficial neuromast inspired capacitive flow sensors , 2010 .

[16]  Marcel Dijkstra,et al.  Biomimetic micromechanical adaptive flow-sensor arrays , 2007, SPIE Microtechnologies.

[17]  Y. K. Liu,et al.  The fluid mechanics of the semicircular canals , 1976, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[18]  Gijsbertus J.M. Krijnen,et al.  Performance assessment of bio-inspired systems: flow sensing MEMS hairs , 2014, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[19]  Christopher B. Williams,et al.  A procedure for creating actuated joints via embedding shape memory alloys in PolyJet 3D printing , 2015 .

[20]  M. Chial,et al.  in simple , 2003 .

[21]  M. Koehl,et al.  Fluid Flow through Filtering Appendages of Insects , 1987 .

[22]  C. Toumey.  35 atoms that changed the nanoworld. , 2010, Nature nanotechnology.

[23]  Marcel Dijkstra,et al.  MEMS based hair flow-sensors as model systems for acoustic perception studies , 2006, Nanotechnology.

[24]  Friedrich G. Barth,et al.  Medium Flow-Sensing Hairs: Biomechanics and Models , 2007 .

[25]  M. Hartmann,et al.  Mechanical responses of rat vibrissae to airflow , 2016, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[26]  Joseph H. Solomon,et al.  Biomechanics: Robotic whiskers used to sense features , 2006, Nature.

[27]  H. Droogendijk,et al.  An angular acceleration sensor inspired by the vestibular system with a fully circular fluid-channel and thermal read-out , 2014, 2014 IEEE 27th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).

[28]  Fan-Gang Tseng,et al.  Self-Assembly in Micro- and Nanofluidic Devices: A Review of Recent Efforts , 2011, Micromachines.

[29]  Ryan B. Wicker,et al.  3D Printing multifunctionality: structures with electronics , 2014 .

[30]  Shannon E Bakarich,et al.  4D Printing with Mechanically Robust, Thermally Actuating Hydrogels. , 2015, Macromolecular rapid communications.

[31]  Vladimir Mironov,et al.  Organ printing: computer-aided jet-based 3D tissue engineering. , 2003, Trends in biotechnology.

[32]  R. Feng,et al.  Influence of processing conditions on the thermal and mechanical properties of SU8 negative photoresist coatings , 2002 .

[33]  Junliang Tao,et al.  Hair flow sensors: from bio-inspiration to bio-mimicking—a review , 2012 .

[34]  Ryan B. Wicker,et al.  Novel ABS-based binary and ternary polymer blends for material extrusion 3D printing , 2014 .

[35]  Douglas L. Jones,et al.  Artificial lateral line with biomimetic neuromasts to emulate fish sensing , 2010, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[36]  Gijsbertus J.M. Krijnen,et al.  Biomimetic Flow Sensors , 2012 .

[37]  Andrés Díaz Lantada,et al.  Rapid prototyping of multi-scale biomedical microdevices by combining additive manufacturing technologies , 2014, Biomedical microdevices.

[38]  C Van Hoof,et al.  Self-assembly from milli- to nanoscales: methods and applications , 2009, Journal of micromechanics and microengineering : structures, devices, and systems.

[39]  Friedrich G. Barth,et al.  Dynamics of Arthropod Filiform Hairs. I. Mathematical Modelling of the Hair and Air Motions , 1993 .

[40]  G Jeronimidis,et al.  Recent advances in biomimetic sensing technologies , 2009, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.