This platform enables fast prototyping and deployment of continuous sensors, as it is modular and can be cut or joined.
Developed by a team at MIT Media Lab’s Responsive Environments group, SensorTape is a sensor network in the form factor of masking tape. Inspired by the emergence of modular platforms throughout the Maker community, it consists of interconnected and programmable sensor nodes on a flexible electronics substrate.
SensorTape’s network architecture automatically determines the locations of each node and the length of the tape, as it is cut and rejoined. This network is composed of daisy chained slave nodes and one master, with each node attached to the next by five wires: clock and data for I2C, peer-to-peer serial, 5V power and ground. Tapes with different sensors can also be connected for mixed functionality, while an intuitive graphical interface is employed for programming.
Each slave node features an ATmega328P along with three on-board sensors (an ambient light sensor, an accelerometer, and a time-of-flight distance sensor), two voltage regulators, and an LED. Meanwhile, the master node contains the same AVR MCU, as well as serial-to-USB converter and a Bluetooth transceiver. The tape can be clipped to the master node without soldering using a flexible circuit connector.
Although still in its infancy, sample use cases of the self-sensing tape include everything from wearables that monitor posture to inventory tracking to home activity sensing. You read all about the project in the MIT group’s paper here, and watch its video below.
Filed under: Boards & Platforms, Cool Things
