Matt Blackshaw

Week 11: Final Project Preparation

DepthTouch

The idea

A pad which is sensitive to both touch position and depth. The base of the pad has an array of electrodes which sense capacitance through step response. The gelatinous substrate acts as a dielectric while the finger acts as a capacitor detected by the sensing array.

Steps

1. Mold/cast a gelatinous substrate.
2. Build a higher resolution capacitive sensing array based on design from week 8.
3. Investigate conductive paints which can be used on the surface of the gelatinous layer.
4. Add LEDs to provide output on touch.
5. Construct a press-fit case from aircraft plywood.
6. Write software to visualize output.

Progress

Some photos from testing...