Keep tabs on the Earth's vibrations with the Raspberry Shake 4D

By Lulu Chang Published July 13, 2017

raspberry shake 4d eag9297 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Thanks to a veritable pantheon of smart home devices, we are now able to track even the most minute of changes in our homes. Slight difference in temperature? Track it. Slight change in pressure? Track it. Uptick in radon levels? Track it. But for the big stuff — you know, things you can actually feel, like tremors — we somehow have not figured out how to keep tabs on. Until now, that is. Meet the Raspberry Shake 4D, a “professional personal Earth monitoring device” that puts you in the shoes of a seismologist and could even help you monitor for earthquakes.

Building upon the success of last year’s Raspberry Shake, which exceeded its initial Kickstarter funding goal by a 1,400 percent, the Raspberry Shake 4D makes use of four precision sensors to monitor the Earth’s vibrations, allowing users to observe the vibrations happening all around us — big or small. Capable of detecting a wide range of motion, this little device is capable of some pretty big things — indeed, things that were previously thought only possible with professional-grade equipment. But whereas real seismograph machines will set you back thousands upon thousands of dollars, this guy is just a few hundred on Kickstarter.

“The Raspberry Shake 4D is so sensitive that there is always something to see, even the fun stuff that you never thought possible — like rush-hour traffic, cheering crowds at a local concert or football game, and even noisy neighbors with thin walls,” said Branden Christensen the CEO of Osop, the company behind the Raspberry Shake.

The 4D version of the device features four times the input sensors of the original version and promises double the output. “Now it is possible to see double the range of vibrations across all dimensions (laterally and vertically) making the 4D the most powerful personal seismograph in existence,” claimed Ángel Rodríguez, the designer of the device.

So if you are looking to nurture a budding interest in geology and the ever-moving world around you, this may just be the device to get you started on your journey. The Raspberry Shake 4D is available for pre-order on Kickstarter for $300 and is slated to begin shipping in October.

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