SwitchDoc Labs' AfterShock Brings Earthquake Monitoring to Your Raspberry Pi

Environmental sensing specialist SwitchDoc Labs is back on the crowdfunding circuit with a project designed to add earthquake monitoring capabilities to any Raspberry Pi or compatible single-board computer: the solar-powered AfterShock.

"The WeatherSense AfterShock Sensor is the latest in the SwitchDoc Labs line of Solar Powered 433MHz environmental sensors designed to hook up with your Raspberry Pi," explains SwitchDoc Labs' John Shovic of his latest design. "AfterShock is a seismic sensor which is different than a seismograph and is much less expensive."

"AfterShock is designed to pick up earthquakes that could potentially damage your home, equipment or business. It does not continuously report earth movement (such as caused by trucks or people walking), but only reports earth movement that AfterShock determines looks like an earthquake. AfterShock uses a sophisticated algorithm to detect whether an earthquake has occurred at your location and reports back how strong the earthquake (at your local location!) was using the SI (Seismic Instensity) Scale to your Raspberry Pi!"

The AfterShock is the latest in SwitchDoc Labs' growing family of WeatherSense devices, which launched late last year as an upgrade to the company's earlier OurWeather kits and which recently received lightning-detection and air quality functionality. Now, the same WeatherSense platform can add earthquake monitoring to the mix — or the device, which ties in to open-source software, can be used on its own.

The AfterShock is now funding on Kickstarter, with hardware — which is built around an Arduino Pro Mini module in a carrier board — starting at $115 for the sensor board and solar panel plus all necessary wiring. A Raspberry Pi and suitable software-defined radio (SDR) is not included as standard, while an optional housing can also be 3D-printed from STL files.