What do your sensors do? At their core, our sensors measure angular displacement. That is, they output an angle that is linearly proportional to the amount of bending induced. Please see the demonstration videos on the home page to get a better understanding of our sensors in action.What are the operating principles behind your technology? Please see our theory manual for a full explanation.Are your sensor accurate?Are your sensor accurate?How durable are you sensors?Our sensors are very durable. We’ve tested our sensors to millions of cycles without failure or drift.What are your sensors made out of?Silicones loaded conductive and dielectric materials.What are some example applications?There are an incredible number of applications for our technology that span automotive, healthcare, IOT, robotics, consumer electronics, motion capture and many industrial market segments. One of our customers, Claris Healthcare, uses our sensors for remote orthopedic patient monitoring. Other areas of strong interest come from consumer electronics & IOT such as measuring laptop screen angles or remotely indicating exactly how open or closed a door is.How do I connect to your sensors?For our evalution kits we recommend using our Nitto Bend Technologies connect web app to connect to our evaluation kits. Our web app allows anyone with a chrome browser (desktop or mobile) on any device to experience our sensors. The web app allows you to connect to up to 5 evaluation kits and visualize and save data for each sensor.
For our non-evaluation kits we currently have a standard I2C interface with an easy to use API for reading angular data and configuring the sensor. The portable C99/C++ driver can be found on our GitHub repository.Can add more than one sensing region to your sensors?Yes!How do I use Nitto Bend Technologies sensors in my product?Most groups start out by purchasing our evaluation kits and attaching them to early prototypes. Then once they’ve determined a good technological fit, we get involved in custom integrations.How quickly can I create prototype with your sensors?We designed our evaluation kits to make it easy and painless to start prototyping straight out of the box. We ship our evaluation kits with the ability to connect via BLE or I2C. Our companion web app can connect to the evaluation kit’s electronics over BLE for a quick look at sensor performance.How are your sensors unique relative to others on the market?Other flex sensors on the market, such as piezoresistive flex sensors, are made from a plastic substrate and are not durable and suffer from drift. Other elastomer based flexible sensors, such as stretch sensors, only measure the amount the sensor has been stretched which is an indirect way of measuring angular motion. Our sensors, however, directly measure angular displacement, reject common mode signals such as stretching and are extremely durable and drift free. They also produce bidirectional output that is linearly proportional to the angular displacement of the sensor. Additionally, they are path independent, so extraneous bending and the radius of curvature have minimal impact on the output of the sensor (see our theory manual)Do I need to re-calibrate the sensors everytime there is a power-cycle?No. Our sensors store the factory calibrations in non-volatile memory so anytime they’re powered on they will always read the indicated angle.How do I evealuate your technology?Purchase our evaluation kits. We always recommend this as the first step to better understanding if this technology will be an appropriate solution. If more information is needed, contact us to setup a consultation with our solutions team.
Customization & Integration
How long does it take to integrate your sensors into my product?It depends. We’ve had groups come to us knowing exactly what they need, and we’ve built their prototypes in just a few weeks. We also have customers whose product integrations have taken more than a year due to the deep complexities or regulation of the product.What options do I have for custom sensor geometries?Many. The evaluation kit sensors come in both a thin rectangular (1-Axis) and elongated cubiodal (2-Axis) form factor. That being said, we’ve designed sensor geometries that range from a slight modification in size to an entirely different shape (e.g. circular). Contact us regarding custom geometries for your project.Does Nitto Bend Technologies take on custom work, such as help with product integrations?Yes. Please contact us to learn more.Will Nitto Bend Thecnologies build my prototype for me?Yes. We know our technology better than anyone and love to help groups with integrated prototypes.Contact us
Manufacturing & Licensing
What is your production capacity?We have the capability to produce on the order of millions of units per year. →Currently, we only have lab-scale production capacity, but we are planning to reach an annual production volume of tens of thousands of units in the future.Where can I find volume and pricing information?Please contact us for volume and pricing information.Where are your sensors produced?Twenty minutes north of Salt Lake City in Farmington, Utah.
