[Lab] Question(s) for the Collective: Pressure sensors

[Tom Burns]

Hi Henri

If low cost is a goal I strongly suggest AVR chips with supporting
circuitry instead of complete arduinos.  The chips + supporting circuitry
come in at under $10.  If you find someone with an AVR ISP programmer they
can load the arduino bootloader to the chips so further software revisions
can be uploaded via serial.  Should bring the per-microcontroller cost down
to ~$10.

Tom

On Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 1:37 PM, Henri Kuschkowitz <
henri.kuschkowitz at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I am hoping to be able to access the collective mind to get some
> information regarding pressure sensitive sensors for a possible project
>  for the upcoming Nuit Blanche <http://www.nuitblancheottawa.ca/> here in
> Ottawa.
>
> I would like to gather the input from people walking over a defined area
> on the ground (8"x10" possibly larger). Technically, only a digital output
> (step on/off an area) and no analog data would be required. Since there is
> no compensation for this project a low cost for material is a big factor in
> my research.
>
> After a short analysis, I came to the conclusion that the cheapest
> alternative to buying any kind of sensors would be creating them by myself,
> similar to fluidforms<http://arduino.cc/playground/Projects/ArduinoUsers#fluidforms> or
> a pressure sensor matrix<http://www.instructables.com/id/Pressure-Sensor-Matrix/?ALLSTEPS>,
> and to combine them through multiplexing using one (or more) arduino(s).
> The sensors would be either mounted between sheets of plywood, possibly
> fabric or similar. The installation would be outside, so I have to factor
> this in for what material to use as well.
>
> My question would be whether any of you have any knowledge or advice
> regarding such an endeavour, whether or not I might be on the right track
> or should look into a different (possibly simpler) alternative? Also, I am
> not completely certain whether there would be any issue with multiplexing
> when a couple of sensors are capturing an input at the same time?
>
>
> As always, I more than appreciate any good advice!
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Henri
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Lab mailing list
> Lab at artengine.ca
> http://artengine.ca/mailman/listinfo/lab
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://artengine.ca/pipermail/lab/attachments/20120410/3eabd70c/attachment.htm>