Thin-Film Thermal Discoloration Sensor for Distributed Material Identification

This paper proposes a thin-film sensor that visu- alizes heat transfer at contact surfaces through color changes, using thermochromic pigments specifically designed for mate- rial identification. By capturing the color change as time-series image data, the spatial distribution of heat transfer across the contact surface can be obtained, enabling differentiation of contact materials. The sensor provides a visual representation of heat flow across the interface between the sensor and the object. Experimental results demonstrate the potential of the proposed sensor for material identification and spatial heat transfer analysis.