The response of three readily available low-cost piezoresistive materials (EeonTex, Ex-Static, and Velostat) and their performance on a specific application were studied in this work. First, a series of pressure cycles was applied with a pneumatic platform on piezoresistive sensors based on them. These experiments allowed quantifying several nonidealities: Variability, drift, creep, hysteresis, nonlinearity, and response time. An overview radar chart showed that hysteresis, variability, and response time were quantitatively more relevant and different between the materials. Then, pressure-sensitive mats (PSMs) were manufactured using each of those three materials. They were evaluated by measuring the center of pressure (CoP) in stability tests. A force platform (FP) served as a reference instrument. The best performance in this kind of experiment was obtained by the Velostat-based mat (trajectory distance of 0.021 versus 0.035 and 0.045 cm/sample for Ex-Static-based and EeonTexbased mats, respectively). This material also showed less response time (0.21 versus 0.42 and 0.50 s for Ex-Static and EeonTex, respectively) and hysteresis (0.11 versus 0.21 and 0.23 S/S for EeonTex and Ex-Static, respectively), although its variability was larger (0.137 versus 0.065 and 0.059 S/S for Ex-Static and EeonTex, respectively). These results indicate that response time and hysteresis have a major influence on the determination of the CoP. Further research should focus on compensating for these effects or finding sensor configurations that minimize them.

This dataset supports the study of startle-related physiological responses during walking using a wireless smart assistive cane equipped with a Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) sensor. Data were collected from 22 healthy participants walking through university areas while exposed to sudden auditory stimuli designed to elicit startle responses. GSR, tonic, phasic and acceleration signals were recorded simultaneously using the smart cane and an Empatica EmbracePlus reference device. The dataset includes raw/preprocessed signals, extracted GSR features and statistical results from Linear Mixed-Effects Models (LMMs) assessing the effects of startle condition and motion. The analysis identified 12 of 20 extracted features as motion-robust on the smart cane, with moderate-to-large effect sizes (Cohen’s dz = 0.54–1.27). These results indicate that startle-related physiological information can be detected from a cane-embedded GSR sensor during walking despite motion artifacts, supporting its potential use in future assistive and wearable systems for ambulatory startle and stress monitoring.

Este trabajo presenta un cojín instrumentado como entorno para el desarrollo de prácticas en asignaturas de grado, Trabajos Fin de Grado (TFG) y Máster (TFM), y de aplicaciones en el ámbito de la salud. Entre estas aplicaciones destacan la monitorización e identificación de posturas, el estudio del sedentarismo y la salud postural. El entorno desarrollado permite explorar y experimentar tareas propias de la instrumentación electrónica, tanto del hardware como del software (acondicionamiento y adquisición de señales), así como del procesamiento de datos (clasificación e identificación). El sistema integra sensores de presión piezorresistivos (FSR) comerciales y un Sistema Programable en Chip (PSoC) para la adquisición de mapas de presión. En esta ponencia se recogen diversos aspectos del sistema, destacando su potencial como recurso docente y las posibles líneas de futuro.