Design & Development of a High-Sensitivity Micro barometer Infrasound sensor
“We need to design and build a highly sensitive electronic ear (microbarometer sensor) that can detect ultra-low frequency sound waves—below human hearing—traveling through the air from explosions, volcanoes, or rocket launches. The system must capture these tiny air pressure changes, process them through low-noise electronics, and display the live waveforms on a computer dashboard.”
Deconstructed Problem Blueprint
WHAT TO BUILD?
A complete hardware-software system comprising a high-sensitivity differential pressure sensing transducer, mechanical enclosure, low-noise analog front-end (AFE) circuit, temperature compensation mechanism, long-period pressure equalization system, wind-noise filter interface, and an open-market digitizer/software dashboard for live waveform visualization.
WHO IS IT FOR?
National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) along with defense, geophysical research institutes, and disaster management authorities monitoring atmospheric anomalies and security threats.
WHY DOES IT EXIST?
Infrasound waves travel thousands of kilometers through the atmosphere without getting absorbed easily. However, detecting them requires measuring microscopic pressure fluctuations amidst massive background wind and thermal noise, which standard barometers cannot do.
INPUT → PROCESS → OUTPUT ARCHITECTURE PIPELINE
Sub-audible atmospheric pressure variations (0.01 Hz to 20 Hz) captured via acoustic inlets and porous hose wind-noise reduction pipes.
Differential pressure sensing, capacitive or piezoelectric transduction, high-pass/low-pass analog filtering, low-noise amplification, ADC digitization, and real-time digital signal processing (DSP) for noise floor and frequency response analysis.
Real-time infrasonic waveform displays, power spectral density (PSD) plots, frequency response charts, noise floor metrics, and automated alert flags for high-energy transient events.
CONSTRAINTS
- Must measure extremely low frequencies (down to 0.01 Hz) requiring long-period pressure equalization capillaries.
- Must withstand environmental variations through active temperature compensation.
- Must reject high-amplitude wind turbulence noise using porous pipe rosettes.
- Hardware prototype must operate reliably under lab and field conditions during the 36-hour build and testing window.
JURY METRICS
- Sensitivity (mV/Pa or V/Pa)
- Noise floor level across the 0.01 Hz to 20 Hz spectrum
- Frequency response flatness and phase linearity
- Long-term baseline stability and low thermal drift
- Clarity and responsiveness of the real-time software visualization dashboard
CORE BOTTLENECK
Designing the mechanical transducer and long-period pressure equalization leak coupled with ultra-low-noise analog front-end electronics to prevent thermal and 1/f flicker noise from masking tiny signals below 0.1 Hz.
Why You Should Choose This PS (Pros)
- Extremely high national security and strategic value for NTRO, giving teams massive brownie points.
- Hardware-themed problem statements have significantly less crowd competition compared to generic web/AI tracks.
- Allows teams to showcase hardcore mechatronics, analog electronics, and DSP capabilities.
Challenges & Risks to Watch (Cons)
- Demands precise analog circuit design and physical prototyping which can be sensitive to breadboard stray capacitance and power supply ripple.
- Testing infrasound requires quiet acoustic environments or controlled artificial pressure chambers.
Recommended Tech Stack & Grand Finale Features
Killer Features to Impress the SIH Jury
View Official SIH 2026 Portal Raw Text▼
The sensor should address the complete hardware architecture, including:
(a).Pressure sensing mechanism.
(b).Mechanical transducer design.
(c).Differential pressure measurement technique.
(d).Low-noise analog front-end electronics.
(e).Temperature compensation.
(f).Long-period pressure equalization system.
(g).Environmental enclosure.
(h).Wind-noise reduction interface.
(i).Calibration methodology.
The design should aim to detect very small pressure variations while maintaining long-term stability, low drift, and high signal fidelity. The data acquisition (digitizer) and real time waveform display & analysis software available in open market to be included to demonstrate complete functional sensor system.
(a).Detection of low-frequency pressure signals.
(b).Laboratory characterization of frequency response.
(c).Noise floor measurements.
(d).Sensitivity estimation.
(e).Stability testing.
The evaluation will be conducted based on the achievement of the following parameters Attach Table Here The digitizer and data acquisition software (available in open market) for real time waveform display & analysis will be arranged by candidates themselves to demonstrate the complete functional sensor system.