Vibration measurement

This Innovation Lab post covers how to measure vibrations using the A121 Radar Sensor Evaluation Kit. Vibration measurements can be utilized to predict maintenance need. For example, movement of constructions such as buildings and bridges, and structures such as train tracks are measured and maintained before these infrastructures are going to be damaged or collapse. Moreover, monitoring condition of industrial machinery can be useful for saving maintenance cost and prevent fault operation. Continuous measurement can be done without stopping machines. More information regarding vibration measurement can be found on the Acconeer document site.

You can explore vibration measurement with the A121 sensor using two different set-ups:

• Either using the Acconeer Exploration Tool desktop app, or
• Flash the C code example app in the SDK

The video below shows the A121 sensor estimating the frequency content of a vibrating object, measured at a distance.

One XE121 Evaluation Board and one XC120 Connector Board are necessary for this implementation.

• XE121 Evaluation Board can be purchased from Digi-Key
• XC120 Connector Board can be purchased from Digi-Key

Flash the Evaluation kit through the Exploration tool. Follow the instructions indicated on the Acconeer GitHub page.

• Download and install Python
• Download a software file called “acconeer_xc120_exploration_server_a121”from the Developer site

In the Exploration Tool, click “Vibration measurement” on the left-side menu, and then click “Start measurement” on the right-side menu to start measuring vibrations.

C CODE EXAMPLE IN SDK

If you try this, or work on something else, we’d love to hear about your project! Please get in touch with us on innovation@acconeer.com.