Method and apparatus for sensing utilizing tiles
AssigneesNew York University, Tactonic Technologies, LLC
InventorsKenneth Perlin, Charles Hendee, Alex Grau, Gerald Seidman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for sensing includes a computer. The apparatus includes one or more individual sensing tiles in communication with the computer that form a sensor surface that detects force applied to the surface and provides a signal corresponding to the force to the computer which produces from the signal a time varying continuous image of force applied to the surface, where the surface is contiguous, and detected force can be sensed in a manner that is geometrically continuous and seamless on a surface. A method for determining locations of tiles of a sensor.
Claims8
An apparatus for sensing comprising:
- a computer and a plurality of individual sensing tiles in communication with the computer that form a sensor surface that detects force applied to the surface and provides a signal corresponding to the force to the computer which produces from the signal a time varying continuous image of force applied to the surface, where the surface is contiguous, and detected force can be sensed in a manner that is geometrically continuous and seamless on a surface, each tile having protrusions;
- and
- bridging plates which span across pairs of the protrusions on different sensing tiles, the computer causes prompting signals to be sent to the sensing tiles and reconstructs a continuous position of force on the surface from interpolation based on data signals received from the sensing tiles, each sensing tile has a microcontroller that produces data packets that have the sensing tile's identity from which the data packets are produced and which are sent over a common communication protocol shared by the microcontroller of each sensing tile to the computer, a printed circuit board having the microcontroller and a layer having an inner face below the protrusions with a cavity in which the printed circuit board is disposed.
A method for sensing comprising:
- detecting a force applied to a sensor surface formed of a plurality of individual sensing tiles having protrusions from an object moving across the surface where the surface is contiguous, detected force can be sensed in a manner that is geometrically continuous and seamless on a surface with bridging plates which span across pairs of the protrusions on different sensing tiles;
- including the step of producing with a microcontroller of each sensing tile data packets that have the sensing tile's identity from which the data packets are produced and which are sent over a common communication protocol shared by the microcontroller of each sensing tile to a computer, each sensing tile having a printed circuit board having the microcontroller and a layer having an inner face below the protrusions with a cavity in which the printed circuit board is disposed;
- providing a signal corresponding to the force to the computer from the tiles in communication with the computer;
- and
- producing with the computer from the signal a time varying continuous image of force applied to the surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.