Study on Air Flow Sensor Using MEMS Techniques

Abstract

This paper describes a contact-type air flow sensor inspired by crickets' sensillar seta. The sensor consists of a metal cantilever and an insulation layer. Air flow bends a hair connected to the cantilever, which causes the deflection of the cantilever and the contact with the substrate. Wind tunnel tests showed that the airflow sensors were able to detect wind velocity ranging from 0.1m/s to 1m/s depending on the length of the cantilever. A hexapod miniature robot with two airflow sensors of different lengths were fabricated using MEMS techniques. A thin brass plate was patterned and etched according to the developed shape of the robot, and the sensors were integrated on the brass plate. The plate was then folded to assemble the 3D robot body. The robot successfully walked in two different ways depending on the wind velocity.