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A biomimetic vibration sensor to sense external vibrations was designed based on the hair receptor of insects similar to the water strider. Platinum core piezoelectric ceramic fiber body was prepared by squeeze and press method. This was followed by high-temperature sintering, surface electrode coating, and polarizing to fabricate the symmetric coated metal core piezoelectric fiber vibration sensor. A cantilever beam structure with two surface electrodes was designed as the theoretical sensor model. The fiber was fixed on a matrix structure. Experiments were performed to verify sensing characteristics under impact vibration and simple harmonic excitation. Results showed that the symmetric coated metal core piezoelectric fiber was able to sense amplitude and direction of impact vibration along with frequency, amplitude, and direction under simple harmonic excitation. Such a biomimetic vibration sensor can be effectively used to sense vibration amplitude and direction for a wide range of applications.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to design and fabricate a three-dimensional (3D) bionic airflow sensing array made of two multi-electrode piezoelectric metal-core fibers (MPMFs), inspired by the structure of a cricket’s highly sensitive airflow receptor (consisting of two cerci). Design/methodology/approach A metal core was positioned at the center of an MPMF and surrounded by a hollow piezoceramic cylinder. Four thin metal films were spray-coated symmetrically on the surface of the fiber that could be used as two pairs of sensor electrodes. Findings In 3D space, four output signals of the two MPMFs arrays can form three “8”-shaped spheres. Similarly, the sensing signals for the same airflow are located on a spherical surface. Originality/value Two MPMF arrays are sufficient to detect the speed and direction of airflow in all three dimensions.