Which FSR for high impact

[mgagne]

Hi,
I'm working on a project where I need to count the number of puches a boxer throws (it's for a charity, we are calling it a punch-o-thon). My concern is the abuse the sensor is going to take, do you have/know of a sensor that will survive this type of abuse? I'm not concerned about accuracy (actual force applied), I just need to fix a sensor to a punching bag and count how many punches are thrown.


cheers,
Marc.

[tcooper]

I don't think an FSR will be your best choice here. The leads on the FSR are very fragile, and the resistance change may be hard to catch quick enough with a fast punch. I think your best bet would be to use an accelerometer. This should register the punch very well, and there are no fragile connectors. I would use our ADXL335 sensor (http://www.adafruit.com/products/163).

-Tyler

[mgagne]

Awesome, is it accurate enough to measure the difference between a punch and the bag swinging?

[tcooper]

Yea, it should be. I would start by logging the data at high speed, and doing a series of different punches. This will allow you to go back and see the value differences for each punch.

I found this great multi-part write up from someone who did something very similar:

http://abieneman.wordpress.com/2010/04/ ... on-sensor/

Once you get the sensor and start coding, feel free to post code and we can help you troubleshoot.

-Tyler