A glass break detector works independently or in combination with other anti-theft devices to form a security system. The detector essentially captures and analyzes any acoustic activity and reports if glass breakage has occurred. Due to their mode of operation, these detectors rely heavily on the quality of sound events, posing numerous challenges to the designer. The detector must also be able to reject all fail-sound alerts that are not true glass breakages. This paper discusses an efficient and robust glass break detector using a low cost microcontroller.
Microcontrollers are low-end processors that are used in applications such as simple real-time digital clocks and complex intelligent metering systems. Microcontrollers adapt to these applications because they cost less, consume less power and are easier to use than most other types of digital processors. In simple applications with limited requirements, it is easy to get low cost and low power consumption. However, with the trend towards the use of microcontrollers in complex applications, it becomes a challenge to keep the low cost and achieve low power. Engineers should now try to get the best performance at the lowest possible cost. To achieve this goal, they face constraints on the microcontroller architecture, such as the lower memory on the chip, a limited peripheral set, a lower operating speed and fewer pins. Engineers must optimize everything that these microcontrollers offer for use in quite complex applications, such as the glass break detector.