Volume 21, Issue 12 2407698
Research Article

Water-Dynamics Monitoring Using a Flexible Resistive Sensor and Reservoir Computing

Naruhito Seimiya

Naruhito Seimiya

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060–0814 Japan

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Koh Uehara

Koh Uehara

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113–8656 Japan

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Haruki Nakamura

Haruki Nakamura

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060–0814 Japan

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Guren Matsumura

Guren Matsumura

Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Metropolitan University, Sakai, Osaka, 599–8531 Japan

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Takuma Miyashita

Takuma Miyashita

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060–0814 Japan

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Kohei Nakajima

Corresponding Author

Kohei Nakajima

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113–8656 Japan

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Kuniharu Takei

Corresponding Author

Kuniharu Takei

Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060–0814 Japan

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 13 February 2025

Abstract

Water droplets exhibit different dynamics upon contact with an object, depending on several factors, including the impact angle and droplet volume. Insights gained from monitoring the dynamics might be valuable in rain-sensing applications for analyzing precipitation and wind velocity. Notably, a resistive-type flexible rain sensor exists, which monitors the changes in resistance with time when a water droplet contacts an object. However, the dynamics sensing mechanism for water droplets contacting a conductive superhydrophobic surface has not been systematically explored, and importantly, the sensors can only be used at a 20° tilt angle. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the sensing mechanism of resistive sensors by analyzing the vertical energy of water droplets impacting the sensor surface. By varying the conditions surrounding the vertical impact, we observe that the minimum resistance of the sensor to water droplets increases when the impact energy decreases at different dropping heights and sensor tilt angles. Further, a reservoir-computing algorithm is developed to assess the water dynamics at different sensor tilt angles, resulting in the successful estimation of the water-droplet volume and wind velocity.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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