Goophene: Hypersensitive Graphene Sensors

blorgggg shared this detailed tutorial on Instructables!

This tutorial will show you how you can quickly make a DIY version of GPutty (Graphene Putty) which is a super pressure -sensitive polymer you can use as a robust sensor for a variety of projects and interfaces. This sensor is so multi-purpose and sensitive it could do things like monitor your breathing and pulse just by sitting on your neck. This is a knock-off version (I’ll call it “Goophene,” -get it?) of the “GPutty” idea made by Coleman et al at Trinity College (http://ift.tt/2FVvPTQ)

This DIY type seems nearly as sensitive as the lab-made stuff these guys describe (i tried re-creating the examples they gave). I’ve already succeeded in hooking it up to a microcontroller and sensing:

• Heartbeats
• Breathing
• Swallowing
• Talking
• Loud sounds
• light touches with a napkin
• ultra light touches with .012″ monofilament
• Typing on the table nearby
• June-bugs walking around
• ANGRY ants (but not calm ants- more on this later)

Inertial gestures (like sticking it on your finger an wagging it around)
So check out this how-to, and join me in playing with this new cool substance and figuring out fun new types of interfaces to make with it! I’m also a professor, and if anyone wants to write a paper with me to send to something like TEI (Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction), Ubicomp, or CHI (Computer Human Interaction), types of places might be interested in fun new interactions we can design with this!

It can still be a bit quirky and unpredictable, but we are getting there! Maybe you will be able to help me improve this!

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