Polymerized Tape

We present polymerized sports tape as a general purpose prototyping and sensor-design resource. We use it in a somewhat similar manner to how conductive copper tape is often used for fast production of lo-fi electrical prototypes. However, copper tape has a number of drawbacks if one is prototyping with soft materials, textiles, or even directly on the human body. Because it is not elastic, it does not adhere well to such materials. Sports tape, however, has the desired elastic qualities, and additionally is designed to adhere not only to arbitrary objects, but also to human skin. We polymerize sports tape to make it conductive. The resulting conductive tape has a series of electrical properties which make it an exciting sensor-material. It is piezo-resistive. This means its resistance changes with applied forces. It can also be used to create a voltage gradient, which enables simple and precise position sensing. This unique combination of mechanical and electrical properties makes it an exciting and unique prototyping resource.