Footstep Detector

Footstep Detector

This idea was first written as a post on various forums.

How many times have we hear or felt footsteps in a place we know that there is no-one there?

We hear it audibly or listening back to an audio recorder or reviewing the footage from a camcorder, even all 3!

The main problem with this is that we can find it hard to prove that it's not floorboards naturally creaking or other natural occurring noises.

With this is mind, I discovered a little piece of kit that works like a mini seismometer. It detects vibrations nearby and gives a visual representation on a set of LEDs. It's classed as a geophone.

I think a similar device could be made up from an alarm vibration sensor that is usually mounted to windows and doors to detect a brute force attack.

With this device, I reckon that we could show that as long as the area is totally secure and all the people in the investigation and otherwise are accounted for, that if this goes off as well as hearing something that it may add weight to the auditory evidence. I think footsteps would have a different cadence and rhythm to them than say a vehicle, train passing or even an earthquake!

The output from this device could possibly be connected to a computer logging device by the more clever folks out there.

Here's a link for anyone wanting more info on this device...

Geophone Kit...

http://www.bgmicro.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=10783

Since I first wrote this article, several people have built their own versions. If you don't fancy building your own one, you could always buy a ready made version at the following link...