System for Vehicle Sound and Vibration Monitoring using MEMS Sensors

This paper describes a project aiming at development of an embedded system for internal combustion engine vehicle condition monitoring, using MEMS accelerometers and a microphone. It was assumed that a low-cost solution will be developed, because old, second-hand market cars are targeted, where the use of high-quality piezoelectric accelerometers is economically unreasonable. The project started with elaboration of hardware requirements, based on typical passenger car parameters. The hardware was selected based on these requirements, and the device was designed and constructed. Finally, the device was tested and the results were compared with the results obtained using piezoelectric accelerometers. The research proved that MEMS accelerometers can be useful in providing measurements of good quality, sufficient for condition monitoring of internal combustion engines, and detection of some typical failures.