ABSTRACT
Nowadays, low-cost sensors based on low-cost microcontrollers and microprocessors are gaining a lot of attention from researchers. This increasing interest is due to the fact that the implementation of low-cost solutions may make Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applicable and affordable to structures with a low budget for their SHM. However, many of the present solutions do not have comparable accuracy and resolution with those of the traditional commercial accelerometers. Also, the noise density of these newly developed prototypes has not been checked through laboratory experiments. In fact, the characteristics of the designed and created accelerometer are simply copied from the datasheet of the chipset used to develop the solution. Moreover, the sampling frequency of the majority of the available low-cost solutions usually is lower than 100 Hz. This paper presents a consistent work with the development of a low-cost wireless accelerometer with a sampling frequency of 333 Hz and noise density of 51μg⁄√Hz. This accelerometer’s accuracy, noise density, and reliability are evaluated through a series of laboratory experiments. It is essential to mention that this accelerometer does not need any additional data acquisition equipment and is self-sufficient.
