Purpose and Objective
- Study the feasibility of using VELCRO brand conductive hook and loop fasteners in wearable technology.
- Generate 3 major applications of wearable technology concepts that incorporate conductive VELCRO hook & loop products
- Demonstrate the multi‐functionality of VELCRO products by using them as a medium in I2C transfer, audio transfer and utilizing it to power a device
Technical Approach
Accomplishments / Test Results
- Samples with the lowest resistances were found and used to prioritize which samples would be applied in the prototypes
| Table 1: Interface resistances of the 2 most conductive hooks and 2 most conductive loops | ||||
| B + C | B + I | D + C | D + I | |
| Ohms | 26 | 15 | 60 | 34 |
- In the graph below bit error rate testing (BERT) showed that at 500kHz, conductive hook and loop was within .5% of standard copper wire
| Table 2: Hook and loop to wire (R_wire-to-VELCRO) connection methods | |||
| Connection Method | Conductivity [S/m] | Shear Strength [Mpa] | Attahment notes |
| Conductive Thread | 13000 | 290 | Soft material applications |
| Conductive Epoxy | 16000 | 13.5 | Universal attachment |
| Conductive Tape | 60000 | 0.0126 | Universal attachment |
| Solder | 7100000 | 32.1 | Melts hook and loops, mechanical failure |
Team Members
- Timothy Allen (BMED)
- Brett Deccy (MECH)
- Christopher Ho (MECH)
- George Jabara (MECH)
- Brad Johnson (MECH)
- Harry Li (MECH)
- Zackary Reed (MECH)
- Sarah Straub (MTLE)
People
Mark J Anderson
Research Area
Product Development
Project Type
Product Development
Funding Agency/Sponsor
VELCRO
