THE POWER OF PAPER
Paper-based electronics are not so far-fetched as they might sound. Electronics have become ubiquitous and semi-disposable. Building them on a material that is cheap and renewable is an intriguing concept, and multiple people around the world are investigating it. Meriem Akin has been doing her doctoral work in this emerging field, and I got to join her for a summer through the DAAD RISE program. (Which meant spending three months in Germany, definitely a bonus!)
Meriem had created a paper based sensor which could be used to measure rotation in a magnetic field. I designed a system which could translate the sensor resistance change into information on the angular position, and then created demos of two practical applications for the sensor. This included designing circuitry and programming (with Arduino), as well as some incidental hardware.
Meriem demonstrating her sensor
Here is an article about it... in German... http://www.phi-hannover.de/kluge-koepfe/artikel/detail/wissenschaftlerinnen-fertigen-sensoren-auf-papier/
Application demos I created
Working with the magnetic coils
New friends who kindly adopted me
