Arduino Seismic / Vibration Sensor

Want to sense Earthquakes? Maybe equipment vibration? We have put together a quick and inexpensive project that will sense vibration. We use a Vibration sensor from Sparkfun, a SainSmart UNO, and a I2C LCD.

We have created a bar graph that moves back and forth based on vibration intensity, and a “Earthquake” message that displays when the level exceeds a threshold.

I2C library and LCD tutorial

See Code and Video below:

Code:

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//sensitivity variables
int minimum = 200;
int maximum= 1023;
int maxdelay = 400;

#include <Wire.h>
#include <LCD.h>
#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>
#define I2C_ADDR 0x27 // change to your address found with I2C scanner
#define BACKLIGHT_PIN 3
#define En_pin 2
#define Rw_pin 1
#define Rs_pin 0
#define D4_pin 4
#define D5_pin 5
#define D6_pin 6
#define D7_pin 7
LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(I2C_ADDR,En_pin,Rw_pin,Rs_pin,D4_pin,D5_pin,D6_pin,D7_pin);

// Custom Character
byte seismic[8] = {
B11111,
B11111,
B11111,
B11111,
B11111,
B11111,
B11111,
B11111,
};

//defines the pin connections
int sensePin= 2;

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);

lcd.begin (16,2); // or (20,4)
// Switch on the backlight
lcd.setBacklightPin(BACKLIGHT_PIN,POSITIVE);
lcd.setBacklight(HIGH);

lcd.createChar(0, seismic);
lcd.begin(16, 2);

}

void loop()
{
int reading= analogRead(sensePin);
Serial.println(reading);
reading = constrain(reading, minimum, maximum);
Serial.println(reading);
reading = map(reading, minimum, maximum, 0, 15);
Serial.println(reading);
lcd.clear();

for (int i=0; i <= reading; i++){
lcd.write(byte(0));

}

if (8<=reading){
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(“Earthquake”);
delay(500);
}

delay(maxdelay);
lcd.clear();

}

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