Demonstration system for a low-power seismic detector and classifier

Abstract

A low-power seismic detector and classifier was designed and implemented which was able to detect the footsteps of a person from as far as 35 meters away. Throughout the design an emphasis was placed on using low power circuitry and efficient algorithms. The test platform to demonstrate the concepts of the design utilizes a revolutionary low-power microcontroller and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) from Texas Instruments, Inc. The DSP is a fixed-point processor that is underclocked to minimize power consumption and the microcontroller has idle modes which consume microamps of power. The system is designed to run on battery power, and uses solar power to continually charge the batteries during the day. Lastly, a "Commercial Off the Shelf" RF module allows multiple sensors to communicate with themselves to triangulate position, or to relay detections and commands to and from a base station.