A MEMS-based commutation module with vibration sensor for wireless sensor network-based tunnel-blasting monitoring

The authors have developed a tiny, low-cost accelerometer that utilizesa semiconductor fabrication technology called MEMS (Micro Electro-mechanical System), for building a sensor network which would have a large quantity of such sensors deployed all over the host structure to be monitored. Due to the small dimension and extremely low power consumption, the sensor device is well-suited for such networks, where the supply of external power is very constrained. The authors have designed both a sensor device, and a sensor module having wireless communication capability built around it, and tested them in real-world tunnels, as well as in test labs. The test results showed that our prototype performed adequately for its intended use.