Characterization of bespoke force sensors for tailored applications

Bespoke force sensors made with active polymer composites are inexpensive, thin and flexible, hence popular in wearable electronics, however their wider application is limited due to the lack of literature studying their voltage response related errors. We present the voltage response characterization of bespoke force sensors made with an active polymer composite, silver coated fabric, stainless steel thread and silver epoxy. Characterization of the effects of static and dynamic loading was completed with a mechanical testing machine. Static tests consisted of loading and unloading at 0.01, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 N/s, and drift tests for 120 minutes up to 10 N every 1 N. Dynamic tests consisted of a sinusoidal load of 5 N ± 1 N applied at 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 Hz for 60 minutes. The force-voltage relationships were modelled using an exponential function. Maximum mean drift error was observed when applying different static loads for 120 minutes each. Drift error is minimal at 5 s (<1%)and at 60 (< 5%) minutes with loads under 1 N. Maximum hysteresis of 18% was observed at a 1 N/s loading rate. The maximum drift error after one hour of dynamic loading was observed at 0.5 Hz and is minimal (-0.00004%). The cost of fabricating these sensors is very low compared with commercially available options. These sensors can be fabricated in any shape and size with the added advantage of being able to set the location of the electronic connections as desired

Analysis of ecosystem services provision in the Colombian Amazon using participatory research and mapping techniques

Over the last two decades indigenous peoples in the lower Caquetá River basin in Colombia have experienced detrimental changes in the provision of important ecosystem services in ways that have significant implications for the maintenance of their traditional livelihoods. To assess these changes we conducted eight participatory mapping activities and convened 22 focus group discussions. We focused the analysis on two types of change: (1) changes in the location of ecosystem services provisioning areas and (2) changes in the stock of ecosystem services. The focal ecosystem services include services such as provision of food, raw materials and medicinal resources. Results from the study show that in the past two decades the demand for food and raw materials has intensified and, as a result, locations of provisioning areas and the stocks of ecosystem services have changed. We found anecdotal evidence that these changes correlate well with socio-economic factors such as greater need for income generation, change in livelihood practices and consumption patterns. We discuss the use of participatory mapping techniques in the context of marginalized and data-poor regions. We also show how this kind of information can strengthen existing ecosystem-based management strategies used by indigenous peoples in the Colombian Amazon

Modeling the Oxygen K Absorption in the Interstellar Medium: An XMM-Newton View of Sco X-1

We investigate the absorption structure of the oxygen in the interstellar medium by analyzing XMM-Newton observations of the low mass X-ray binary Sco X-1. We use simple models based on the O I atomic cross section from different sources to fit the data and evaluate the impact of the atomic data in the interpretation of astrophysical observations. We show that relatively small differences in the atomic calculations can yield spurious results. We also show that the most complete and accurate set of atomic cross sections successfully reproduce the observed data in the 21 - 24.5 Angstrom wavelength region of the spectrum. Our fits indicate that the absorption is mainly due to neutral gas with an ionization parameter of Epsilon = 10(exp -4) erg/sq cm, and an oxygen column density of N(sub O) approx. = 8-10 x 10(exp 17)/sq cm. Our models are able to reproduce both the K edge and the K(alpha) absorption line from O I, which are the two main features in this region. We find no conclusive evidence for absorption by other than atomic oxygen

Critical behavior of 2 and 3 dimensional ferro- and antiferromagnetic spin ice systems in the framework of the Effective Field Renormalization Group technique

In this work we generalize and subsequently apply the Effective Field Renormalization Group technique to the problem of ferro- and antiferromagnetically coupled Ising spins with local anisotropy axes in geometrically frustrated geometries (kagome and pyrochlore lattices). In this framework, we calculate the various ground states of these systems and the corresponding critical points. Excellent agreement is found with exact and Monte Carlo results. The effects of frustration are discussed. As pointed out by other authors, it turns out that the spin ice model can be exactly mapped to the standard Ising model but with effective interactions of the opposite sign to those in the original Hamiltonian. Therefore, the ferromagnetic spin ice is frustrated, and does not order. Antiferromagnetic spin ice (in both 2 and 3 dimensions), is found to undergo a transition to a long range ordered state. The thermal and magnetic critical exponents for this transition are calculated. It is found that the thermal exponent is that of the Ising universality class, whereas the magnetic critical exponent is different, as expected from the fact that the Zeeman term has a different symmetry in these systems. In addition, the recently introduced Generalized Constant Coupling method is also applied to the calculation of the critical points and ground state configurations. Again, a very good agreement is found with both exact, Monte Carlo, and renormalization group calculations for the critical points. Incidentally, we show that the generalized constant coupling approach can be regarded as the lowest order limit of the EFRG technique, in which correlations outside a frustrated unit are neglected, and scaling is substituted by strict equality of the thermodynamic quantities.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, RevTeX 4 Some minor changes in the conclussions. One reference adde