Development of methodologies for validating the quality of a novel fluid flow sensor

During the internship required for the Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, conducted at Riedel Communications, a systematic review of the literature was developed in order to gain a greater understanding of methods for validating the quality of sensors, with a main focus on calibrations. A second assignment involved calibrating the fluid flow sensor (FFS) developed by Riedel. Throughout this dissertation, the work carried out during the internship will be described, as well as its background and objectives. Riedel Communications is developing a scientifically precise and high-quality system for acquiring 3D navigation data. The idea was born out of the need to obtain analytical data that better reflects the movement of a surfer relative to the water. A fluid flow sensor (FFS) is integrated into the system, and its implementation in hostile environments and measurement without interfering with an athlete's performance are the biggest challenges. In order to ensure consistency and reduce errors, all instruments should be calibrated to ensure they are performing in accordance with known standards. Based on the high consistency and repeatability of the experimental results, the fluid flow sensor displayed a high-quality performance. Therefore, the internship was a success because it served as a valuable resource for the company's work, and all activities were successfully completed.Durante o estágio do Mestrado em Engenharia Biomédica, realizado na Riedel Communications, foi desenvolvida uma revisão sistemática da literatura a fim de se obter uma maior compreensão dos métodos de validação da qualidade de sensores, sendo que a calibração foi o foco principal. Num segundo trabalho, procedeu-se exatamente à calibração do sensor de fluxo desenvolvido pela Riedel. Ao longo deste relatório, será descrito o trabalho realizado durante o estágio, bem como os seus objetivos. A Riedel Communications está a desenvolver um sistema cientificamente preciso e de alta qualidade para a aquisição de dados de navegação 3D. A ideia nasceu da necessidade de obter dados analíticos que reflitam melhor o movimento de um surfista em relação à água. Um sensor de fluxo de fluido (FFS) está integrado no sistema, e a sua implementação em ambientes hostis e medição sem interferir com o desempenho de um atleta são os maiores desafios. A fim de assegurar a consistência e reduzir erros, todos os instrumentos devem ser calibrados para garantir que o seu desempenho está de acordo com as normas conhecidas. Com base na elevada consistência e repetibilidade dos resultados das experiências efetuadas, pode-se dizer que o sensor de fluxo de fluido apresentou um desempenho de alta qualidade. Portanto, o estágio foi um sucesso pois serviu como um recurso valioso para o trabalho da empresa, e todas as atividades foram concluídas com sucesso

A low-cost experimental rig for multi-DOF unsteady thrust measurements of aquatic bioinspired soft robots

The design, calibration and testing of an experimental rig for measuring 2-DOFs unsteady loads over aquatic robots is discussed. The presented apparatus is specifically devised for thrust characterization of a squid-inspired soft unmanned underwater vehicle, but its modular design lends itself to more general bioinspired propulsion systems and the inclusion of additional degrees of freedom. A purposely designed protocol is introduced for combining calibration and error compensation upon which force and moment measurements can be performed with a mean error of 0.8% in steady linear loading and 1.7% in unsteady linear loading, and mean errors of 10.2% and 9.4% respectively for the case of steady and dynamic moments at a sampling rate of the order of 10 Hz. The ease of operation, the very limited cost of manufacturing and the degree of accuracy make this an invaluable tool forfast prototyping and low-budget projects broadly applicable in the soft robotics community