Metaphorically speaking you could compare historic methods of sensing to be similar to a television only having the ability to produce black and white images when the world is now used to High Definition.
There are two core measurements that existing resistance sensors cannot do within a single sensor.
- Sensitivity of touch - e.g., how hard is something pushing or pulling
- Density of touch - e.g., knowing what movements mean, understanding the strain or depression in a seat or bed.
For conventional pressure sensors it is very hard to measure movement, strain and therefore density. They try and solve this by using multiple sensors together, but this only creates noise and lag while increasing complexity and cost.
Occupancy detection, classification and monitoring have not been possible in a single sensor technology until now.
