PA - Design and Fabrication of a Circular PCB for Sensor Readout

Design and Fabrication of a Circular PCB for a Modular Data Acquisition System in Bio-Inspired Whisker Sensors

Abstract

This project focuses on designing and fabricating a circular, modular data acquisition (DAQ) PCB for bio-inspired whisker sensors mounted on a rotating platform. The primary goal is to capture touch interactions of piezoelectric whisker sensors (and optionally magnetic or IMU-based ones) during rotational motion, digitize the signals, and transmit the data wirelessly to a computer in real-time. The system will support rotational frequencies ranging from 1 Hz to 15 Hz and should be capable of scaling from 4 up to 16 sensor inputs. To accommodate different sensor types, the DAQ board must include configurable signal conditioning circuits to handle voltage levels between 0.1V and 20V. A WiFi-enabled microcontroller will be used to collect and transmit data simultaneously during operation. The circular design must ensure mechanical balance and symmetry and should be structured to allow modular expansion or reduction in sensor count.

Tasks

Design circular PCB layout with modular sensor input support (4–16 channels)
Integrate analog front-end circuit with adjustable gain or attenuation
Implement filtering for noise reduction (anti-aliasing filters)
Design the system for a sampling rate of approximately 1250 Hz across 16 channels (500 kbps wireless)
Develop real-time wireless data transmission (WIFI streaming to PC)
Ensure mechanical and electrical balance for rotational use
Create basic software GUI for visualization and data logging
Design and test the circuit experimentally

Skill Requirements

Solid knowledge of PCB design (Altium, KiCAD, or equivalent)
Understanding of analog electronics (amplifiers, filters, ADC concepts)
Proficient in microcontroller programming (e.g., C, Arduino)
Basic knowledge of signal processing (sampling, filtering, noise handling)
Interest in mechanical integration
Experience with GUI development is a plus

Contact Person: Mohammad Sadeghi (mohammad.sadeghi@tuhh.de)

Desired starting date: As Soon As possible