Tilt Sensors Induced by Liquid Metal Dynamic Motion in a Switchgrass-Molded Anisotropic Microcone: Materials, Sensors, and Equipment

Owing to the requirement for precise measurement of angular displacement across various industries, the development of tilt sensors has garnered significant attention in both academia and industry. Nevertheless, most current tilt sensors face challenges, such as mechanical friction and wear, complex structures, and high manufacturing costs. Here, a novel tilt sensor was designed by encapsulating based on Ga-based liquid metal in a nature-inspired capillary tube with an anisotropic microcone array. In the measurement range from -90° to 90°, the sensor exhibits a linear relationship with the inclination angle and features high resolution (0.1°) as well as ease of implementation. Leveraging these advantages, it can be employed to monitor changes in the leaves angle, stability of equipment, language programming, and surface topography of the scanning system, which is expected to have great potential applications in the agricultural and forestry industries as well as in mechanical manufacturing.