Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

paulbupejr.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 138 posts

Re: Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

#41

Post by 00702 »

oersted wrote: post #20
00702 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point -- I need to better explain what "bend localization" means on a more practical level pretty early on.

> This means the sensor can tell you where you bent it, with a predefined (and coarse) resolution. > OptiGap’s application is mainly within the realm of soft robotics, which typically involves compliant (or ‘squishy’) systems, where the use of traditional sensors is often not practical. This explanation is already quite clear. If I understood correctly, by "predefined resolution" you mean that it detects which silico…

The finger bending example is certainly a classic for something like this but I think it truly shines in soft robot examples like flapping wing robots or swimming finned robot, where it's critical for sensors to be mechanically transparent so as to not impact the usually delicate dynamics. The "soft" robotic arm in my earlier paper is another good example https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9763962

Re: Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

#42

Post by devwastaken »

00702 wrote: post #10
porphyra wrote: post #5

That's super cool and I hope you don't mind a little bit of unsolicited feedback but the first question everyone's asking is "what does it do?" At present the blog post starts out with two paragraphs talking about the format of the blog post and the applications but not what the sensor actually measures.

Good point -- I need to better explain what "bend localization" means on a more practical level pretty early on.

Have a quick recording that shows an outcome or effect that is a core part of the research.

Re: Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

#43

Post by 00702 »

teucris wrote: post #32

I wonder if by using a large nozzle, you could print out the entire sensor by laying out lengths of TPU with flexible joints at each air gap. It would depend on how well light traveled through the printed part though.

3D printing does affect the light passing through significantly. There are a number of options for fabricating these but most of the successful ones involve cutting (can even use a laser cutter).

Re: Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

#45

Post by wholinator2 »

As sometime about to start a PhD in theoretical physics, how did you do 3 years? I've been told a doctorate is 2 years of classes followed by 3 to 5 years of research. Did you already have a masters that you're doctorate college accepted to override class requirements?

Re: Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

#47

Post by moralestapia »

georgeburdell wrote: post #37
kobalsky wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm not understanding the blog post so bear with me. Isn't what he is described what a time domain reflectometer does? [1]. I mean that's what it's used to detect breaks or kinks in fiber optics cables. The same tech is used to detect problems in civil infrastructure with embbeded fiber optics. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_time-domain_reflectome...

Yeah my thoughts exactly. OTDR is what the optical networking industry uses (for much larger runs of fiber) to find kinks/breaks.

It could still be a novelty if it uses a slightly different method or even materials. Hence why the advice is to get this on the hands of IP experts.

Re: Show HN: I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD

#49

Post by 00702 »

wholinator2 wrote: post #45

As sometime about to start a PhD in theoretical physics, how did you do 3 years? I've been told a doctorate is 2 years of classes followed by 3 to 5 years of research. Did you already have a masters that you're doctorate college accepted to override class requirements?

The short answer? Weekly meetings with my advisor! Long answer: I also had 2 years of classes but I started working on my research immediately, while taking classes. By the time I finished all my classes and became a candidate I had one paper already published and another one accepted, so I was able to get a 3rd paper out and defend by the end of the 3rd year.
Post reply on HN