Which microcontrollers are used for vibration sensors?

Short version: there isn’t a special “vibration sensor microcontroller” – you pick an MCU based on how you read the sensor (analog vs digital), sample rate, signal processing, power, and connectivity. But there are families that are very common for vibration/condition-monitoring projects.

I’ll group them so it’s easier to see.

1. First: how is the vibration sensor interfaced?

Most common vibration sensors:

• MEMS accelerometers (e.g. ADXL345, LIS3DH, MPU-6050, etc.)
  → talk over I²C or SPI

• Piezo or IEPE accelerometers (industrial)
  → analog signal, needs analog front-end + ADC

• Cheap piezo discs
  → analog, often read via MCU ADC with a resistor network

So the MCU must have either:

• decent ADC (and maybe op-amps) for analog sensors, or
• I²C/SPI for digital accelerometers (almost every MCU has this).

2. Hobby & maker level (Arduino-style projects)

These are the ones you see in tutorials like “vibration alarm”, “motor imbalance detector”, etc.:

8-bit AVR (classic Arduino)

• ATmega328P (Arduino Uno/Nano)
• ATmega2560 (Arduino Mega)
• PROS:
  • Super easy ecosystem, tons of examples with MPU-6050, ADXL345, etc.
  • Enough ADC and CPU for simple threshold / RMS vibration measurement.
• CONS:
  • Limited performance for high-frequency data logging or FFT.

ESP32 / ESP8266

• ESP32 is popular when you want Wi-Fi + Bluetooth plus vibration.
• Great for sending vibration data to MQTT, InfluxDB, Grafana, etc.
• Has built-in ADCs (not perfectly linear, but fine for many uses).

Use cases:

• Simple vibration alarm (washing machine, door, machine housing)
• Logging low-frequency vibration to SD card or cloud
• DIY condition monitoring with basic FFT on ESP32

3. 32-bit ARM (most common in serious projects)

For anything beyond toy projects – especially if you want FFT, higher sampling rates, or multiple channels – people tend to use Cortex-M microcontrollers:

STM32 (STMicroelectronics)

Very common in:

• Industrial sensor nodes
• Motor drives & predictive maintenance add-on boards
• Vibration + temperature/pressure combos

Why it’s popular:

• Wide range: from tiny STM32G0/L0 to powerful STM32F4/F7/H7
• Many have:
  • 12–16-bit ADC
  • DSP extensions (Cortex-M4/M7)
  • Good low-power modes (STM32L series)
• Tons of dev boards and examples using MEMS accelerometers (ST even sells combo boards with LIS3DH, IIS3DWB, etc.).

NXP Kinetis / i.MX RT

Used in industrial & automotive:

• Cortex-M0+/M4/M7 devices
• Good ADCs and DSP performance
• Often paired with MEMS sensors on SPI/I²C for condition monitoring.

TI MSP432 / SimpleLink / CC13xx / CC26xx

• Low-power Cortex-M MCUs and wireless MCUs used in vibration sensing nodes in industrial IoT.
• Good if you need Sub-GHz / BLE plus sensor interface.

Use cases here:

• Condition monitoring on pumps, motors, fans
• Wireless vibration nodes stuck to machines
• Multi-axis accelerometer + temperature logging with periodic radio uplink

*4. Industrial & high-performance vibration/condition monitoring
*
If you need high sample rates, precise ADC, and heavy signal processing (FFT, envelope analysis, order tracking), you start seeing:

TI C2000 & DSP-like MCUs

• C2000 series and TI’s industrial MCUs are used in motor control and predictive maintenance.
• They typically handle:
  • Fast ADC sampling
  • On-chip DSP math
  • Real-time control loops + vibration analysis.

Microchip dsPIC / PIC32

• dsPIC33: designed for motor control + DSP; good fit for:
  • Reading accelerometers via ADC
  • Doing filtering / FFT
• PIC32: 32-bit MCUs for more complex systems, logging, communications.

ADI mixed-signal MCUs (ADuCM series)

• Combine precision ADCs with an ARM core.
• Used when you want high analog performance + some embedded processing in one chip.

These are the sort of parts you find in industrial vibration analyzers or smart sensor modules.

5. Ultra-low-power wireless vibration sensor nodes

For stick-and-forget battery devices that send vibration bursts every now and then:

Nordic nRF52 series

• BLE + Cortex-M4F
• Enough DSP power for light vibration analysis

TI CC26xx / CC13xx

• Sub-GHz or BLE
• Very low power, for long-life nodes

These often read:

• A low-power MEMS accelerometer (e.g., LIS2DW12, ADXL362, etc.) via I²C/SPI
• Then do thresholding or simple RMS locally
• Only transmit when something interesting happens (to save battery)

6. How to choose a microcontroller for a vibration sensor project

Instead of asking “which microcontrollers are used”, better ask:

What does my vibration system need?

Key questions:

1. Sensor interface

• Digital accelerometer (I²C/SPI)? → almost any MCU works.
• Analog piezo? → need good ADC, maybe external ADC + op-amp.

1. Frequency range & sampling rate

• Simple “is it shaking?” detection (e.g., 0–100 Hz): even 8-bit MCU is fine.
• Motor condition monitoring (0–10 kHz bandwidth): need faster ADC and Cortex-M4/M7-class core.

1. Signal processing

• Threshold only → very light MCU.
• RMS / filtering / simple FFT → Cortex-M3/M4 (e.g., STM32F3/F4, ESP32).
• Advanced DSP → dsPIC, C2000, ADSP, or use an external processor / SBC.

1. Power & connectivity

• Battery with long life? → MSP430, STM32L, nRF52, CC13xx/26xx.
• Always powered, Ethernet/Wi-Fi? → ESP32, STM32F4+Ethernet, or even a small Linux SBC (Pi, BeagleBone).

7. Simple recommendations by project type

• Beginner Arduino vibration sensor (piezo disc or MPU-6050):

Microcontroller: ATmega328P (Arduino Uno/Nano) or ESP32 if you want Wi-Fi.

• Small “industrial-ish” vibration node (MEMS accelerometer + basic FFT):

Microcontroller: STM32F303 / STM32F4 class or ESP32.

• Serious condition monitoring, multiple channels + high frequency:

Microcontroller: STM32F7 / H7, TI C2000, or dsPIC33 plus good external ADC.

• Battery-powered wireless sensor tag:

Microcontroller: nRF52, TI CC26xx/CC13xx, or STM32L + external radio.