A complex signal processing technique is usually required to process the data in most sensor design structures, and integration into real applications is also challenging. This work presents a dynamic rotational sensor using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) fiber for robot movement assessment. The sensor design structure is based on the coupling of light intensity, in which two PMMA fibers are twisted together. Both fibers are bent after twisting and attached on the linear translation stage, which is further attached to the robot. The variation in bending radius causes the bending loss, and that loss is coupled in the second fiber. The change in the macro-bend radius corresponds to the rotation of the robot. Experimental results indicate that the sensor can operate in full rotational cycle (i.e., 0°–360°) as well as for clock and anti-clockwise rotation. Moreover, different rotational speeds (2°/s, 3°/s, 5°/s, and 10°/s) were carried out. The hysteresis loss of the sensor was about 0.77% and the sensitivity was 8.69 nW/°. The presented dynamic rotational sensor is cost-effective and easily integrated into the robot structure to analyze the robot’s circular motion.
This research introduces an RI sensor for detecting various alcohol species with a designed twisted polymer optical fiber (POF) sensor. The sensor is developed via a straightforward twisting technique to form an effective coupling mechanism. The sensor works on intensity variation where coupled intensity varies when different types of alcohol are added. The structure relies on the twisting of two fibers, where one fiber is used as the illuminating fiber and the other fiber is used as the receiving fiber. Five different types of alcohol are tested (methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, and pentanol) as a substant. The experimental results reveal that the sensor is able to detect all five distinct substants effectively by optical power intensity variation. Moreover, the sensor’s sensitivity is analyzed with different factors such as the influence of the bending radius and the coupling length, which reveals that the sensing parameters could be customized depending on specific requirements. The sensor demonstrated consistent responses in repeatability tests, with minimal variation across multiple measurements, highlighting its stability. Additionally, the study explores temperature’s influence, revealing a sensitivity shift for every degree Celsius of change. This POF-based alcohol sensor represents a significant leap forward in optical sensing technology.