Developing an Acoustic Sensing Yarn for Health Surveillance in a Military Setting
<p>Images at different stages in the production of the prototype acoustic sensing helmet cover. (<b>a</b>) Soldered microphone; (<b>b</b>) encapsulated microphone; (<b>c</b>) final acoustic sensing yarn; (<b>Bottom</b>) Photograph of the rear of an acoustic sensing helmet cover prototype. The cover is on a British Army Mk6 helmet. Important components of the cover have been annotated.</p> "> Figure 2
<p>The inner acoustic testing chamber. (<b>Left</b>) A photograph of the chamber. (<b>Middle</b>) A schematic of the interior of the chamber. (<b>Right</b>) A photograph of the lid of the chamber showing the calibration microphone and yarn placements.</p> "> Figure 3
<p>Example data showing the sensor response to a 1000 Hz signal using an acoustic sensing yarn. (<b>Top</b>) The raw collected signal. (<b>Middle</b>) A graph of the raw signal covering a shorter time interval, showing the waveform. (<b>Bottom</b>) The fast-Fourier transform of the signal. In this example, there are some higher frequency spectral features, however the main signal is seen as a 1000 Hz.</p> "> Figure 4
<p>Sensor response for microphones at different stages of encapsulation; soldered to copper interconnects (blue; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i001"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i001" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i001.png"/></span>), resin encapsulation (orange; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i002"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i002" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i002.png"/></span>), final yarn (grey; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i003"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i003" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i003.png"/></span>). All data points were the average of five repeat measurements. (<b>a</b>) Sensor response as a function of sound pressure level at a fixed frequency of 1000 Hz. Tests were carried out between 0.1 and 81.2 Pa (74.8–132.2 dB), with the sensor operating correctly at all amplitudes across this range. (<b>b</b>) Sensor response as a function of frequency at a fixed sound pressure level of 0.43 ± 0.02 Pa. Note that the soldered microphone was not able to detect signals at 8000 Hz correctly. (<b>c</b>) Sensor response for eight different microphones at different stages of encapsulation. The input sound had an amplitude of 69.2 ± 9.6 Pa with a 1000 Hz frequency. Note that the large variation in the sound pressure level did not matter in this case, as this level was well above the linear range of the sensor (<a href="#sensors-18-01590-f004" class="html-fig">Figure 4</a>a). Within the experimental error, the sensor response appeared to be unaffected by the encapsulation process.</p> "> Figure 5
<p>Sensor response for an acoustic sensing yarn. All data points were the average of five repeat measurements. (<b>a</b>) Sensor response as a function of sound pressure level at four frequencies, 125 Hz (green; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i004"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i004" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i004.png"/></span>), 1000 Hz (yellow; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i005"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i005" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i005.png"/></span>), 4000 Hz (blue; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i006"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i006" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i006.png"/></span>), and 8000 Hz (pink; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i007"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i007" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i007.png"/></span>). Tests were carried out between 0.02 and 82 Pa, and gave similar responses regardless of frequency. It should be noted that higher SPLs were not possible for all frequencies explored, given the limitations of the testing apparatus. (<b>b</b>) Sensor response as a function of frequency at a fixed sound pressure level of 1.03 ± 0.05 Pa.</p> "> Figure 6
<p>Sensor response for the acoustic sensing yarns where the hardware module was used. Experiments were conducted using the acoustic sensing yarns before (black; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i008"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i008" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i008.png"/></span>) and after (red and purple; <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i009"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i009" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i009.png"/></span>, <span class="html-fig-inline" id="sensors-18-01590-i010"> <img alt="Sensors 18 01590 i010" src="/sensors/sensors-18-01590/article_deploy/html/images/sensors-18-01590-i010.png"/></span>) the yarns were inserted within the helmet cover. (<b>a</b>) Sensor response as a function of sound pressure level at a fixed frequency of 1000 Hz. Tests were carried out between 0.1 and 8.1 Pa (73.8–112.1 dB), with the sensor operating correctly at all amplitudes across this range. For the acoustic sensing yarn outside of the cover (black), averaged data using four samples is shown. (<b>b</b>) Sensor response as a function of frequency at a fixed sound pressure level of 0.43 ± 0.02 Pa. For the acoustic sensing yarn outside of the cover (black), averaged data using four samples is shown. An 8000 Hz signal was also tested; the variation in results at this frequency was very high, and it has been negated from the graph for clarity. Variation in the result when the hardware module was used was also seen to be significant at high frequencies (2000 Hz and 4000 Hz). (<b>c</b>) Sensor response for the four acoustic sensing yarns at a fixed input sound of 45.5 ± 3.1 Pa with a 1000 Hz frequency. The sample numbers are consistent with <a href="#sensors-18-01590-f003" class="html-fig">Figure 3</a>.</p> ">
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Acoustic Sensing Yarn Fabrication and Design Considerations
2.2. Prototype Acoustic Sensing Helmet Cover
2.3. Testing Procedure
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Acoustic Sensing Yarn Validation
3.2. Acoustic Sensing Helmet Cover Validation
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Hughes-Riley, T.; Dias, T. Developing an Acoustic Sensing Yarn for Health Surveillance in a Military Setting. Sensors 2018, 18, 1590. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18051590
Hughes-Riley T, Dias T. Developing an Acoustic Sensing Yarn for Health Surveillance in a Military Setting. Sensors. 2018; 18(5):1590. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18051590
Chicago/Turabian StyleHughes-Riley, Theodore, and Tilak Dias. 2018. "Developing an Acoustic Sensing Yarn for Health Surveillance in a Military Setting" Sensors 18, no. 5: 1590. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18051590