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Abstract. Impact sensors are widely used to detect grain losses in a harvester. This work reports the protection of impact sensors with PVDF films and the optimization of various experimental parameters to maximize their performance in collision detection applications. A detailed study is carried out to experimentally optimize the method of pasting polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films, as well as the material and the shape of the damping layer. Experimental tests on two types of impact sensors demonstrate that, excluding the gap positions, the sensor with one layer of PVDF films can meet the working requirements, and the impact sensor with two layers of crossed PVDF films has the potential to detect extremely dense collisions.