Each year, the editors at Electronic Products choose the Product of the Year awards, representing what they believe to be the most outstanding products introduced during the last year. In the article below - part of our Story Behind the Story series - we go beyond the specs to uncover how these innovative products came to be.

The company behind the High-Temperature FlexiForce™ flexible piezoresistive force sensors, Tekscan, was founded in 1987 to produce matrix, or array, sensors that are widely used in medical and dental applications, such as dental occlusal analysis. The sensors tend to be used in fairly low quantities, and are often highly customized for their end applications. But about 10 years ago, the company saw they could apply their technology in a new way to create flexible sensors in higher volumes and began their FlexiForce group.

The initial FlexiForce sensors were capable of operating at temperature up to about 140F. While this could serve in several markets, the company was approached around 2005 with a request for sensors that could withstand even higher operating temperatures. The company, which had been putting new investment into R&D and expanding its manufacturing capabilities, did some market research and determined that a flexible force sensor with high-temperature capability would find acceptance in many new areas, including automotive, military, and industrial sensing.

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