Vibration sensor

[alaswad]

Hi everyone

As part of a sensors project, I'm thinking of designing a bed bug detector. There is already one commercially available which detects the CO2 emitted by the bugs.

I'm thinking of taking a different approach which I don't think exists and should be fairly easy to implement.

I want to design a mattress with sensors spread out all over it that can detect the vibrations caused by their legs as they walk on the bed. I figured that it would be simple to separate those vibrations from the ones caused by the sleeper as they are much smaller and have a higher frequency.

Can anyone suggest what kind of sensor could do such thing? I am not interested in the interface with a measurement system, just the sensors.

Many thanks

 

[poor mystic]

maybe a microphone?

 

[alaswad]

what do you mean? use a system that has the same idea of a diaphragm in the microphone?

 

[poor mystic]

I was thinking of very cheap electret microphones which could be sewn into the ticking.

 

[alaswad]

i've thought of that
but another aspect I can't forget about is the actual comfort of the mattress (if this sensor idea works it could be commercialised), and if I just put the microphones or any other hardware at the surface it would affect the comfort aspect of it

this means that the system has to be at a certain depth within the mattress, and since the bedbug legs will have a tiny force on the mattress, and these will be further toned down by the mattress, i need a pretty sensitive sensor

 

[poor mystic]

I'd say give it a go - you might be surprised!

 

[alaswad]

alright i'm taking a look at it now, thanks for the help