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The Danish company SENSITIVUS gauge has launched an innovative combination of sensor technologies for simultaneous measurement of torque and angle.

The sensor is developed for electric bicycles, a fast-growing market, but can be used in many different applications within the automotive industry, wind turbines, machines, and various types of robotic technology. Its versatility and flexibility make it a valuable tool in a wide variety of applications.

On electric bikes, torque and angular velocity (cadence) are central to controlling the motor.

– The cycling experience achieved with a fast and precise sensor cannot compare to what is on the market right now, says inventor and CEO Rolf V. Østergaard.

The major advantages of a really accurate sensor are more responsive and predictable steering, safer control, and greater driving pleasure.

– It is safer to ride a bike with a motor that gives you precisely the assistance you need. This will prevent you from experiencing sudden jerks of power. Instead, it should feel like driving an ordinary bike – but having superpowers. It simply makes it more fun to ride,” Rolf Østergaard adds.

Good old strain gauge technology in new settings

The first customers for the new sensor come from the industrial segment and from a rapidly growing group of companies that develop and produce motors for electric bicycles. The interest is so intense that Sensitivus has had to introduce a waiting list for new customers.

The sensor differs significantly from traditional sensors that typically use a magnetostrictive principle for measuring torque. By using the strain gauge technique Sensitivus has fine-tuned for the past 9 years, it has succeeded in bringing the power consumption of the entire sensor down to below 150 mW, while the precision is up to 10 times better.

The angle helps “dead” zones

As something new on electric bikes, the same sensor can measure absolute angles. It will quickly calculate cadence on the crank. But Sensitivus’ customers are ready to go a step further to make e-bikes even easier and more intuitive to ride.

The angle of the crank is used to boost the engine in the two vertical “dead” zones, where the legs can’t really provide that much momentum. It has somewhat the same effect as when cyclists use oval blades to get easily and quickly past the point where the pedals are in the top/bottom position. It is a feature in demand, especially on heavy cargo bikes.

Where magnetostrictive sensors in their principle and design are suited for measuring torque on a pipe or shaft, the Sensitivus sensor is equally useful when the mechanical construction requires measuring torque on a disc. That need typically occurs when (automatic) transmission and engine are combined in a compact unit.