Insect pectinate antennae maximize odor capture efficiency at intermediate flight speeds.

Flying insects are known to orient themselves over large distances using minute amounts of odors. Some bear pectinate antennae of remarkable architecture thought to improve olfactory performance. The semiporous, multiscale nature of these antennae influences how odor molecules reach their surface. We focus here on the repeating structural building blocks of these antennae in Saturniid moths. This microstructure consists of one ramus or branch and its many hair-like sensilla, responsible for chemical detection. We experimentally determined leakiness, defined as the proportion of air going through the microstructure rather than flowing around it, by particle image velocimetry visualization of the flow around three-dimensional printed scaled-up mock-ups. The combination of these results with a model of mass transfer showed that most pheromone molecules are deflected around the microstructure at low flow velocities, keeping them out of reach. Capture is thus determined by leakiness. By contrast, at high velocities, molecular diffusion is too slow to be effective, and the molecules pass through the structure without being captured. The sensory structure displays maximal odor capture efficiency at intermediate flow speeds, as encountered by the animal during flight. These findings also provide a rationale for the previously described "olfactory lens," an increase in pheromone reception at the proximal end of the sensors. We posit that it is based on passive mass transfer rather than on physicochemical surface processes.

Modelling of Anisotropic Electrical Conduction in Layered Structures 3D-Printed with Fused Deposition Modelling.

3D-printing conductive structures have recently been receiving increased attention, especially in the field of 3D-printed sensors. However, the printing processes introduce anisotropic electrical properties due to the infill and bonding conditions. Insights into the electrical conduction that results from the anisotropic electrical properties are currently limited. Therefore, this research focuses on analytically modeling the electrical conduction. The electrical properties are described as an electrical network with bulk and contact properties in and between neighbouring printed track elements or traxels. The model studies both meandering and open-ended traxels through the application of the corresponding boundary conditions. The model equations are solved as an eigenvalue problem, yielding the voltage, current density, and power dissipation density for every position in every traxel. A simplified analytical example and Finite Element Method simulations verify the model, which depict good correspondence. The main errors found are due to the limitations of the model with regards to 2D-conduction in traxels and neglecting the resistance of meandering ends. Three dimensionless numbers are introduced for the verification and analysis: the anisotropy ratio, the aspect ratio, and the number of traxels. Conductive behavior between completely isotropic and completely anisotropic can be modeled, depending on the dimensionless properties. Furthermore, this model can be used to explain the properties of certain 3D-printed sensor structures, like constriction-resistive strain sensors.

A 3D-Printed Soft Fingertip Sensor for Providing Information about Normal and Shear Components of Interaction Forces.

Sensing of the interaction forces at fingertips is of great value in assessment and rehabilitation therapy. Current force sensors are not compliant to the fingertip tissue and result in loss of touch sensation of the user. This work shows the development and characterization of a flexible fully-3D-printed piezoresistive shear and normal force sensor that uses the mechanical deformation of the finger tissue. Two prototypes of the sensing structure are evaluated using a finite element model and a measurement setup that applies normal and shear forces up to 10 N on a fingertip phantom placed inside the sensing structure, which is fixed to prevent slippage. Furthermore, the relation between strain (rate) and resistance of the conductive TPU, used for the strain gauges, is characterized. The applied normal and shear force components of the 3D-printed sensing structure can be partly separated. FEM analysis showed that the output of the sensor is largely related to the sensor geometry and location of the strain gauges. Furthermore, the conductive TPU that was used has a negative gauge factor for the strain range used in this study and might cause non-linear behaviors in the sensor output.

Development of Soft sEMG Sensing Structures Using 3D-Printing Technologies.

3D printing of soft EMG sensing structures enables the creation of personalized sensing structures that can be potentially integrated in prosthetic, assistive and other devices. We developed and characterized flexible carbon-black doped TPU-based sEMG sensing structures. The structures are directly 3D-printed without the need for an additional post-processing step using a low-cost, consumer grade multi-material FDM printer. A comparison between the gold standard Ag/AgCl gel electrodes and the 3D-printed EMG electrodes with a comparable contact area shows that there is no significant difference in the EMG signals' amplitude. The sensors are capable of distinguishing a variable level of muscle activity of the biceps brachii. Furthermore, as a proof of principle, sEMG data of a 3D-printed 8-electrode band are analyzed using a patten recognition algorithm to recognize hand gestures. This work shows that 3D-printed sEMG electrodes have great potential in practical applications.

FFF print defect characterization through in-situ electrical resistance monitoring.

Fused filament fabrication is a popular fabrication technique. Currently there is a need for in-situ monitoring modalities to gather real-time information on prints, both for quality control and closed-loop control. Despite current advancements, effective and affordable in-situ monitoring techniques for non-destructive defect detection of voids and bonding quality are still limited. This work demonstrates in-situ monitoring of fused filament fabrication through electrical resistance measurements as an alternative to thermal and optical methods. A new, easy-to-implement setup is demonstrated which measures the electrical resistance of a conductively doped filament between the nozzle and single or multi-electrodes on the bed. Defects can be located in an unprecedented way with the use of encoded axes in combination with the observed resistance variations throughout the part. A model of the anisotropic electrical conduction is used to interpret the measurements, which matches well with the data. Warping, inter-layer adhesion, under-extrusion and overhang sagging print defects can be observed in the measurements of parts with a complex geometry, which would be difficult to measure otherwise. Altogether in-situ electrical resistance monitoring offers a tool for optimising prints by online studying the influence of the print parameters for quality assessment and it opens up possibilities for closed-loop control.

Mechano-optical wavelength tuning in a photonic crystal microcavity with sub-1 V drive voltage.

A micro-bimorph cantilever with self-aligned nanotips is monolithically integrated with a photonic crystal based device using optical and deep UV lithography techniques. Upon electrostatic actuation, the dielectric nanotips perturb the optical field, providing electromechano-optical modulation of light. Static tuning of the optical transmission spectra by more than 600 pm is measured with a sub-1 V drive voltage, resulting in a modulation as high as 21 dB. The observed strong electromechano-optical effect may find application in power efficient devices for optical communication networks, such as wavelength routing elements.

Integrated mechano-optical hydrogen gas sensor using cantilever bending readout with a Si3N4 grated waveguide.

We demonstrate a proof of concept of a novel and compact integrated mechano-optical sensor for H(2) detection based on a microcantilever suspended above a Si(3)N(4) grated waveguide. The fabricated devices are mechanically and optically modeled and characterized. Sensing operation of the sensor is demonstrated with 1% H(2) in N(2). The error in detection of the cantilever bending induced by absorption of H(2) is estimated to be approximately 10 nm. Significantly improved sensitivity (down to ∼33 pm) is expected for reduced initial bending of the microcantilever. The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement and provide a good guideline for further optimization of the sensor.

Micromechanically tuned ring resonator in silicon on insulator.

We demonstrate a monolithically integrated micromechano-optical device where the resonance wavelength of a silicon ring resonator is tuned by perturbing the evanescent field with an electrostatically actuated silicon nitride microcantilever. The resonance wavelength can be tuned over 125 pm.

Challenges in Modeling Pheromone Capture by Pectinate Antennae.

Insect pectinate antennae are very complex objects and studying how they capture pheromone is a challenging mass transfer problem. A few works have already been dedicated to this issue and we review their strengths and weaknesses. In all cases, a common approach is used: the antenna is split between its macro- and microstructure. Fluid dynamics aspects are solved at the highest level of the whole antenna first, that is, the macrostructure. Then, mass transfer is estimated at the scale of a single sensillum, that is, the microstructure. Another common characteristic is the modeling of sensilla by cylinders positioned transversal to the flow. Increasing efforts in faithfully modeling the geometry of the pectinate antenna and their orientation to the air flow are required to understand the major advantageous capture properties of these complex organs. Such a model would compare pectinate antennae to cylindrical ones and may help to understand why such forms of antennae evolved so many times among Lepidoptera and other insect orders.

Leakiness and flow capture ratio of insect pectinate antennae.

The assumption that insect pectinate antennae, which are multi-scale organs spanning over four orders of magnitude in size among their different elements, are efficient at capturing sexual pheromones is commonly made but rarely thoroughly tested. Leakiness, i.e. the proportion of air that flows within the antenna and not around it, is a key parameter which depends on both the macro- and the microstructure of the antenna as well as on the flow velocity. The effectiveness of a structure to capture flow and hence molecules is a trade-off between promoting large leakiness in order to have a large portion of the flow going through it and a large effective surface area to capture as much from the flow as possible, therefore leading to reduced leakiness. The aim of this work is to measure leakiness in 3D-printed structures representing the higher order structure of an antenna, i.e. the flagellum and the rami, with varying densities of rami and under different flow conditions. The male antennae of the moth Samia cynthia (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) were used as templates. Particle image velocimetry in water and oil using 3D-printed scaled-up surrogates enabled us to measure leakiness over a wide range of equivalent air velocities, from 0.01 m s-1 to 5 m s-1, corresponding to those experienced by the moth. We observed the presence of a separated vortex ring behind our surrogate structures at some velocities. Variations in the densities of rami enabled us to explore the role of the effective surface area, which we assume to permit equivalent changes in the number of sensilla that host the chemical sensors. Leakiness increased with flow velocity in a sigmoidal fashion and decreased with rami density. The flow capture ratio, i.e. the leakiness multiplied by the effective surface area divided by the total surface area, embodies the above trade-off. For each velocity, a specific structure leads to a maximum flow capture ratio. There is thus not a single pectinate architecture which is optimal at all flow velocities. By contrast, the natural design seems to be robustly functioning for the velocity range likely to be encountered in nature.