HOW to Use Thin-film Pressure Sensor on Raspberry Pi with ESP32

Overview

In this kit, there is a Keyestudio thin-film pressure sensor. The thin-film pressure sensor composed of a new type of nano pressure-sensitive material and a comfortable ultra-thin film substrate, has waterproof and pressure-sensitive functions.

In the experiment, we determine the pressure by collecting the analog signal on the S end of the module. The smaller the ADC value, DAC value and voltage value, the greater the pressure; and the displayed results will shown on the Shell.

Working Principle

When the sensor is pressed by external forces, the resistance value of sensor will vary. We convert the pressure signals detected by the sensor into the electric signals through a circuit. Then we can obtain the pressure changes by detecting voltage signal changes.

Components

Connection Diagram

Test Code

//**********************************************************************************
/*  
 * Filename    : Film pressure sensor
 * Description : Read the basic usage of ADC，DAC and Voltage
 * Auther      : http//www.keyestudio.com
*/
#define PIN_ANALOG_IN  34  //the pin of the Film pressure sensor
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

//In loop()，the analogRead() function is used to obtain the ADC value, and then the map() function is used to convert the value into an 8-bit precision DAC value. 
//The input and output voltage are calculated according to the previous formula, and the information is finally printed out.
void loop() {
  int adcVal = analogRead(PIN_ANALOG_IN);
  int dacVal = map(adcVal, 0, 4095, 0, 255);
  double voltage = adcVal / 4095.0 * 3.3;
  Serial.printf("ADC Val: %d, \t DAC Val: %d, \t Voltage: %.2fV\n", adcVal, dacVal, voltage);
  delay(200);
}
//**********************************************************************************

Test Result

Connect the wires according to the experimental wiring diagram, compile and upload the code to the ESP32. After uploading successfully，we will use a USB cable to power on, open the serial monitor and set the baud rate to 9600. We need to press the reset button on the ESP32, then the serial monitor will display the thin-film’s ADC value, DAC value and voltage value, when the thin-film is pressed by fingers, the analog value will decrease, as shown below;