Artificial hair cell flow sensor with ball joint

We present octopus-shaped artificial flow sensor for measuring flow velocity and direction. Arranging commercial piezo-resistive (PRT) pressure sensors and placing octopus-shaped artificial hair cell with ball joint connection made by 3d printing technology, we were able to measure a minimum flow of 106 mm/s at water tunnel and also resolve the direction angle of 10° by wind pressure. The sensor module is designed to be integrated with a miniature unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for exploration purposes.