A Bend Sensor Developed With 3D Printer Filament

Paul Bupe Jr. stumbled upon an elegant and simple bend sensor during his PhD research, which has potential applications beyond academia. His discovery came while experimenting with shining light along flexible media, such as transparent 3D printer filament. He observed that bending the filament at a point covered by electrical tape resulted in a reduction in light transmission. This effect was replicated using a piece of pipe over a narrow air gap in the medium.

By placing these sensors at regular intervals and measuring the light transmission along the medium, he could detect a bend. Combining three filaments with the air-gap-pipe sensors spaced to form a Gray code, he could digitally read the bend location.

Now, Paul Bupe Jr. is developing this discovery into a product. Whether navigating through the process of writing his thesis or launching a small start-up, we wish him the best of luck.

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