SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DUAL-FUNCTION FOAM PRESSURE SENSORS

A pressure sensing system that includes a dual-function foam is disclosed. The dual- function foam may be integrated into padding of a variety of objects to measure pressures and locations of pressures/strains exerted by a user on the padding. The dual-function foam may respond to a pressure/ strain with a piezoelectric effect or a piezoresistive effect depending on the nature of the applied pressure/ strain. Each effect may require different sensing approaches. Accordingly, the pressure sensor system may include a controller that is configurable into one of a plurality of operating modes based on the sensing approach suitable for the applied pressure/ strain. One of the operating modes may be a sleep mode, which can reduce the power consumed by the controller when no pressure/ strain is applied to the dual-function foam for a period.