Pressure/force sensor recommendation for making a pressure mat

Support Arduino
1

Hi,

I’m looking to build a pressure mat using an array of pressure/force sensors (connected to an arduino), maybe something like a piezoresistive sensor. The use case would be for measuring force distribution for when someone lies on a surface.

Do you have any sensor recommendation that you think would be applicable?

Thank you!

2

Hi Chao,

Welcome to the forum :smiley:

I can think of two methods you could use to achieve this.
The first would be to use an array of force-sensitive resistors which could be set up either as binary on or off weight detectors, or they can be set up to measure a series of weight values and roughly quantify the force on each.
The second method would be to use a series of load cells, these will give a much higher precision for the weight measurement, but the setup and calibration are also more complex.

I’ll link the two guides we have which cover each approach below.

1 Like
3

Thank you Trent!

I will explore both options, but just at a glance, will probably lean more towards the Force Sensitive Resistors approach, as they seem lighter and smaller.

Stupid question here. I’m assuming these will work just as well on an Arduino? Or is Rasp Pi more preferable for any particular reason?

Cheers,

1 Like
4

Hi Chao,

That’s a good question, Arduinos will have built-in Analog to Digital Converters on their analog input pins, so if you use an Arduino board you can skip the need for an external ADC.

2 Likes
5

Thank you Trent! Really appreciated the help!

1 Like
7

Hi Chao,

This reminded me of a couple cool videos I watched on this a while back:

Good luck with your project!

1 Like
8

Cool project. I think this approach is more efficient than using FSR.

9

Wow, thank you for sharing James!

Sorry about this late response. But will definitely explore these methods too! Really appreciate it!

1 Like