pressure sensor for boxing heavy bag

Sensors Force & Weight
1

Hi, not sure if this the right place to post this, but - I am interested in embedding pressure sensors in a heavy bag (the kind boxers use) that would send to an app (on an iPad for instance) the location of a strike on the bag, the number of strikes in a specified period of time, and the force that the strike delivered. The objective would be to train the athlete to increase strike force, accuracy and frequency.

I am not sure which products would be most appropriate - at a minimum I would need the pressure sensors and some kind of wireless connection from the bag to the app, and a power source. And the devices would have to be rugged and durable for obvious reasons.

Thanks, Tom

2

Hi Tom,

I’m not sure if SparkFun will have the right sensors for this project. We have a few force sensors like this [25lb FlexiForce Pressure Sensor that you could, theoretically, install under the surface of the heavy bag but they are not really intended for the kind of abuse that a lot of punches/kicks would cause. Also, this specific one maxes out at 25lbs and I would imagine the strikes will exceed that by quite a bit.

We do have [a similar sensor that has a 100lbs capacity but it has a very small sensing area so it would be difficult to get accurate data without a lot of these placed throughout the bag. The issue with this would be the same as the 25lbs sensor in that they’re not really designed for high-impact applications and may get damaged in this specific project. If you are interested in learning more about the FlexiForce sensors, I would recommend taking a look at their [User Manual.

I hope this helps you determine if SparkFun has the right sensors for this project and if, after reading more about the FlexiForce sensors, you would like to build a prototype circuit, let me know and I can recommend a few development boards that would have built-in wireless capability for you to send the data wirelessly.](https://cdn.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Sensors/ForceFlex/FLX-FlexiForce-Sensors-Manual.pdf)](FlexiForce Pressure Sensor - 100lbs. - SEN-08685 - SparkFun Electronics)](FlexiForce Pressure Sensor - 25lbs (1" area) - SEN-11207 - SparkFun Electronics)