title: Ultra-miniature force plate for measuring triaxial forces in the micronewton range.
abstract: Measuring the ground reaction forces of a single leg is indispensable to understanding the dynamics of legged locomotion. Because of the technical state of the art, investigations are limited to animals with a body mass above 1 g. Here we present the design, fabrication, calibration and performance of a novel ultra-miniature force platform at the micronewton level. The sensor was built using the stereolithography technology and is equipped with semiconductor strain gauges. We found a highly linear signal response in the calibrated force range to ±1300 μN. Individual tests revealed that our force plate still shows a linear response at forces as great as 4 mN, confirming a large measuring range and particular robustness. The sensitivity was above 50 V N(-1) in all directions, which makes it possible to resolve forces of 10 μN. We demonstrated the suitability of the device on the basis of a typical ground reaction force measurement of an ant, Formica polyctena.
authors.affiliation: Science of Motion, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Seidelstr. 20, 07749 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blickhan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D008124:Locomotion; D010827:Physiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013499:Surface Properties
keywords: 3D reaction force; Insect biomechanics; Miniature force plate; Small animal; Triaxial force measurement