I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD
Here's a "behind-the-scenes" look at my development of a cool sensor during my PhD (electrical engineering). This sensor is only about 1/3 of my total research for my degree and took about a year. I've been on HN for a while now and I've seen my fair share of posts about the woes of pursuing a PhD. Now that I'm done with mine I wanna share some anecdotal evidence that doing a PhD can actually be enjoyable (not necessarily easy) and also be doable in 3 years. When I started I knew I didn't want to work on something that would never leave the lab or languish in a dissertation PDF no one…
I made a new sensor out of 3D printer filament for my PhD launched on April 11, 2024 with 886 votes, #9 of 4,347 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.
In plain words
A researcher shares a behind-the-scenes account of developing a sensor from 3D printer filament as part of their electrical engineering PhD work. The post documents the one-year project that represents roughly one-third of their doctoral research, offering insights into the design process and methodology. Intended for anyone interested in academic research, the account serves as a case study in balancing practical innovation with academic rigor while completing a PhD program efficiently.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Explore the creation of the OptiGap Sensor System, a novel bend localization sensor for soft robotics, detailing the research journey and development process behind it.
Update : You can follow the discussion of this article around the web on HN , Adafruit , Hackaday , and Hackster.io ! This article explores the research and development journey behind my new sensor system, OptiGap , a key component of my PhD research. I’m writing this in a storytelling format to offer insights into my decision-making process and the evolution leading to the final implementation. It should hopefully provide a glimpse into the sometimes-shrouded world of PhD research and may appeal to those curious about the process. For a deeper dive into technical specifics, simulations, and existing research on this subject, my dissertation is available online here . In very general…from paulbupejr.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
Here's a "behind-the-scenes" look at my development of a cool sensor during my PhD (electrical engineering). This sensor is only about 1/3 of my total research for my degree and took about a year. I've been on HN for a while now and I've seen my fair share of posts about the woes of pursuing a PhD. Now that I'm…
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I've seen some interests in (simulation) video games here on HN so I thought I'd share a short version of our story. More than 6 years ago, me and my friend from university were playing around with an idea of making a game we always wanted to play. We worked on it on weekends but the progress was quite slow, especially due to so many dead ends and wasted effort. Eventually however, we solidified our direction and decided to take the risk to resign from our well paid SWE jobs and work on it full time. It took more than a year but yesterday we have finally released it on Steam:…
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