AstroPiQuake

AstroPiQuake gathers environment data using SenseHat and Raspberry Pi

AstroPi flies onboard the International Space Station (ISS) performing experiments to keep astronauts update-to-date about their environment. Students in the European Union can upload messages to AstroPi. Here on Earth, you can monitor your local environment data and detect earthquakes making a clone of AstroPi called "AstroPiQuake".

Try out the AstroPiQuake emulator. Move the temperature slider to see Smiley's face change colors from cool blue to mellow yellow to red hot. Take a look at earthquake detection. Grab AstroPiQuake with your mouse and shake it. Watch the graph change as it detects you simulating an earthquake.

Sensing environment data

Sense Hat has temperature and humidity sensors. It can sense the barometric pressure. It has an IMU or Inertial Measurement Unit with an accelerometer that measures acceleration forces, a gyroscope that measures momentum and rotation, and a magnetometer that measures the Earth’s own magnetic field, similar to a compass. Here are the technical specifications.

Accelerometer and gyroscope data are measured using coordinates. These are sometimes referred to as yaw, pitch, and roll.

    x is yaw or rotation about the x-axis
    y is pitch or rotation about the y-axis
    z is roll or rotation about the z-axis

Building your own AstroPiQuake

Building your own AstroPiQuake environment sensor

Configuring AstroPiQuake and installing software

Optional: running AstroPiQuake in headless mode

Getting sensor readings

Watching sensor readings

Saving sensor data in a MySQL table

Investigating sensor data

Charting your AstroPiQuake data on ThingSpeak

Experimenting

Broadcasting messages.

Install AstroPiQuake onboard Bumblebee Rover so it can broadcast messages from the rover and other sensors.

Detecting earthquakes.

Use AstroPiQuake to detect an earthquake.