The MicroWire is a sensor that detects temperature, pressure, and the magnetic field directly, and other measurements indirectly such as vibrations, torque, el. current, position, etc. They make it possible to have heat maps, pressure maps, proximity sensors, and many more clever possibilities!
The main characteristics:
Appearance, State, and Behaviour: it is tiny! A sensor that is 20–70 µm in diameter, flexible and thin like human hair. It is passive! For sensors, passive means reacting to input (i.e. pressure, temp, etc. in the case of MicroWire) from the physical environment around them.
As long as the sensing head generates the proper magnetic field, the signal from MicroWire can be obtained immediately.
Measurement and signal acquisition principles: the sensing head mentioned above, is necessary to create the magnetic field around the wire and capture the wire’s signal. To create the field typically a few mA of energy is necessary which is created thanks to a CPU (Arduino, ARM, Nucleo, etc.). The CPU acts as an Analog to Digital converter as well, the data can now be fed to the customer’s required software, or just be collected as a CSV file.
Condition readiness: the MicroWire, simply put, is a metallic alloy melted through glass (i.e. pyrex). Thanks to this glass coating It can be placed into acidic or alkaline environments, fluids, glued onto hard objects, in dusty or dirty, and even noisy electromagnetic environments, while still providing a proper signal. The MicroWires can usually survive thermal conditions of -273 to up to 600°C (-459 - 1112°F) making them fit to measure real-time curing/heating/solidification of a variety of materials