Vehicle structural sensor and system

A vehicle structural sensor comprising:

• a reinforcement beam having an inboard wall section and an outboard wall section, the outboard wall section configured to deform inward toward the inboard wall section upon receiving an external impact force;
• and
• a conductor module disposed within a hollow interior of the reinforcement beam, the conductor module comprising:
• a flexible non-conductive substrate disposed along an interior surface of the inboard wall section;
• and
• a plurality of conductors supported by the substrate, each conductor forming a protrusion that extends from the substrate toward a conductive portion disposed at or integrated with an interior surface of the outboard wall section,
• wherein the protrusions are spaced from the conductive portion at a set distance and configured to cause electrical contact with the conductive portion when the outboard wall section deforms inward under the external impact force.

A vehicle structural monitoring system comprising:

• a vehicle structural sensor comprising a reinforcement beam having an inboard wall section and an outboard wall section configured to deform inward toward the inboard wall section upon receiving an external impact force, the reinforcement beam having a conductive portion on an interior surface thereof;
• a flexible non-conductive substrate attached to an interior surface of the inboard wall section or the outboard wall section;
• a plurality of conductors electrically connected together and supported by the flexible non-conductive substrate, each conductor forming a protrusion that extends toward an opposing interior surface of the reinforcement beam, wherein end portions of the protrusions are spaced from the opposing interior surface at a set distance configured to cause electrical contact with the conductive portion when the outboard wall section deforms inward under the external impact force;
• and
• a controller in electrical communication with the vehicle structural sensor, the controller configured to:
• receive a local deformation signal from at least one of the plurality of conductors indicating electrical contact above a threshold that corresponds to a degree of inward deformation of the reinforcement beam;
• determine a structure condition value based on the local deformation signal;
• determine whether the structure condition value exceeds a threshold condition value;
• and
• generate a notification when the structure condition value exceeds the threshold condition value.