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The development of flexible and cost-effective strain sensors is crucial for
advancing prosthetic technology, particularly in artificial limb control. This research
focuses on the development of a flexible strain sensor utilizing recycled electronic
components to control the movement of a prosthetic hand while also measuring stress
applied to the prosthetic fingers. This new design improves conventional flex sensors
since it avoids noise, costs less and is more durable. While past studies depended on
different sensor types, this study introduces sensing based on a parallel plate capacitor
with just one layer. The sensor is made by using items from electronic waste, with
conductive graphite from dry batteries and flexible campaign banners. Furthermore, a
special type of silver paper is integrated with the parallel plate capacitor, improving
sensor efficiency.
The system uses five capacitive strain sensors, positioned on every finger, to sense
finger bending. When the finger of the capacitor bends, the separation of the plates or
their dielectric properties changes, increasing the capacitance. If the capacitance
becomes greater than a certain number, the servo motor moves the associated robotic
finger from 0 degrees to 180 degrees. Parallel to the finger movement detection, we
create an extra system built on an Arduino that can sense the pressure applied to the
prosthetic hand’s fingers, using separate supplies that are better for measuring force.