Fabric-based pressure sensor arrays and methods for data analysis

1. A fabric-based pressure sensor array, comprising:

a first layer including M elongated conductive strips coated thereon;

a second layer including N elongated conductive strips coated thereon, the M elongated conductive strips extending crosswise relative to the N elongated conductive strips to define M x N intersections; and

a unitary textile sheet extending between the first layer and the second layer so as to overlap the M×N intersections, the textile sheet having a variable resistivity in response to applied pressure so as to define M×N pressure sensors at locations corresponding to the M×N intersections.

2. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the first layer corresponds to a top textile sheet that is coated with an electrically conductive material to form the M elongated conductive strips, and M is greater than 1.

3. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the second layer corresponds to a bottom textile sheet that is coated with an electrically conductive material to form the N elongated conductive strips, and N is greater than 1.

4. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , wherein the textile sheet includes fibers coated with an electrically conductive material.

5. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 4 , wherein the fibers are coated with an electrically conductive polymer.

6. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , further comprising a first isolation layer disposed between the first layer and the textile sheet.

7. The fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 6 , further comprising a second isolation layer disposed between the textile sheet and the second layer.

8. A system comprising the fabric-based pressure sensor array of claim 1 , further comprising:

a plurality of connectors, each connector attached to a respective one of the M elongated conductive strips on the first layer or a respective one of the N elongated conductive strips on the second layer, wherein the M×N pressure sensors defined at the M×N intersections are addressable through a number M+N of connectors; and

a processing unit configured to correct for a crosstalk effect of the M×N pressure sensors by applying a decoupling matrix of size n×n to electrical parameters measurements of the M×N pressure sensors, where n=M×N.

9. A fabric-based pressure sensor array system, comprising:

a fabric-based pressure sensor array, comprising:

a first layer including M elongated conductive strips coated thereon;

a second layer including N elongated conductive strips coated thereon, the M elongated conductive strips extending crosswise relative to the N elongated conductive strips to define M×N intersections;

a unitary textile sheet extending between the first layer and the second layer so as to overlap the M×N intersections, the textile sheet having a variable resistivity in response to applied pressure so as to define M×N pressure sensors at locations corresponding to the M×N intersections; and

a plurality of connectors, each connector attached to a respective one of the M elongated conductive strips on the first layer or a respective one of the N elongated conductive strips on the second layer;

wherein the M×N pressure sensors defined at the M×N intersections are addressable through a number M+N of connectors;

a circuit coupled to ones of the M+N connectors and configured to measure an electrical parameter at each of the ones of the connectors; and

a processing unit configured to receive the measurements from the circuit, and correct for a crosstalk effect of the M×N pressure sensors by applying a decoupling matrix of size n×n, where n=M×N;

wherein the crosstalk effect of the M×N pressure sensors with respect to the measurements at the M+N connectors is described by a transformation matrix of size n×n, where the decoupling matrix is the inverse of the transformation matrix.