Modern technologies allow a person to largely experience the superiority of the present in materialized dreams and assumptions of the past, which are most clearly manifested in devices that are so familiar to us today, like mobile phones.
Bringing fiction to life
Accelerometer in the phone - what is it and what is it for? It is about this necessary function that will be discussed in the framework of this article. Today you will not surprise anyone with the compact size of an ultra-thin laptop or cell phone, the case of which is only a few millimeters thick. For most of us, the incredible technical capabilities of individual electronic devices is an obvious fact. Today we humans are operating in truly fantastic volumes of data, and the speed of information transfer has long overcome the “light” mark. But behind these abilities are the completely understandable nature of the device, the properties and functionality of which depend only on the level of technology used. A rather complex mechanism that measures gravitational acceleration - the accelerometer, found its purpose in electronic devices. One of these devices just became a modern mobile phone.
Movement magic
So, the accelerometer in the phone - what is this device? There is a simple answer to this question: it is a sensor that determines the spatial position of the object into which it is embedded. The shape and type of the information displayed by the telephone display depends on the position of the device. For example, a picture can change its orientation with respect to the X and Y axes. Due to physical impact - rotation, shock or shaking - a functional algorithm can activate a particular software process. When using a pedometer or a game application, the principle of measuring gravitational acceleration remains unchanged.
Accelerometer in the phone - what is this device and what are its advantages?
The versatility of the phone’s spatial position sensor greatly facilitates the management of the gaming application. The user during the game moves the device relative to two planes, thereby affecting the overall process of the program. It is worth noting that the speed with which the gamer changes the angle of inclination also has a mathematical value, which is a factor in the necessary reaction. Of course, the accelerometer has significantly expanded the functionality of a modern mobile phone. Thanks to this orientation device, the use of a compass, GPS navigation and electronic toys has been greatly simplified and become more convenient.
Spatial Controller Utility Overview
Let's look at a few good points when using the basic functional capabilities of the accelerometer:
1. It is advisable to use a pedometer while jogging. Exercising control through this application, you will always have information about the number of steps taken, which will become a kind of incentive to improve the result of training and qualitatively affect the overall course of sports.
2. The accelerometer sensor in the phone eliminates the sometimes complex, but at the same time time-consuming process of controlling the game, bringing the user closer to understanding absolute comfort. Natural body movements allow the gamer to get maximum pleasure. The effectiveness of the impact does not lie in the force of pressing or the right button, but solely depends on the choice of the optimal amplitude of movement and the accuracy of the positioning process. The ease and ease of the game moment allow us to consider the accelerometer as an indisputable advantage in controlling the game scenario.
3. When you need to take a comfortable position, say, lie on your side, and the phone is still necessary for use, the device’s spatial position sensor will turn the device’s interface over, making it easier to perceive visually displayed information. Games with an accelerometer installed on the phone today have gained total popularity not only among teenagers ... It has been noticed that in the circles of the older generation there has also been a certain tendency towards applications that use spatial positioning technology.
4. Watching the video will become more acceptable if the screen of the electronic device is rotated to the landscape format, which will also be beneficial for viewing photos, e-mail or writing not too capacious messages. Working with graphic tables and editing articles using the accelerometer function also translates into more efficient returns.
The issue of device reliability
The accelerometer in a mobile phone is becoming an integral part of the hardware capabilities of a modern device. The relative simplicity of the structural elements of the spatial sensor allows you to meet a high level of reliability. Judge for yourselves, technology by definition is designed to work in extreme operating conditions. Aircraft industry and astronautics allowed to bring the device to technical perfection. Indeed, in these areas of application, the technology for determining and measuring the acceleration of the spatial position of an object is an indispensable element that determines jewelry accuracy and the correct operation of on-board control systems. Of course, a mobile phone is not a highly reliable product. Serial production and automation of the conveyor manufacturing process often allows for marriage.
What if?..
Do not shake, beat or rub the phone, if suddenly the sensor has stopped functioning. Shamanistic dances with a tambourine and reading magic mantras also will not have the desired result. A problematic situation when the accelerometer does not work can be solved only in two ways:
- Software repair (tuning, flashing and updating phone software).
- Hardware recovery of the spatial sensor (replacement of the control module, maintenance).
Moreover, the second option is the prerogative of electronic specialists.
However, let's look at a few more important arguments in favor of such an important device.
Station wagon is always in demand
Using the special “level” application, you can easily determine the evenness of walls and slopes or the correct installation of the cornice. It is worth noting that the presence of an accelerometer in a mobile device can greatly simplify the search for a desired object within a settlement, and will also provide invaluable assistance in a campaign when using a compass becomes a vital means of orientation. Curious moments of using the acceleration sensor will be fully satisfied when the user wants to know the actual acceleration parameters of the vehicle. Again, exciting races, downloaded to the phone with an accelerometer from the Internet, can add variety and dispel boredom in unforeseen moments of expectation. The versatility of use and the breadth of the incredible capabilities of the spatial device cannot be fully reflected in this article. Therefore, you will have to feel the exciting surprise and fascinating process of learning the large-scale mission of the electronic “vestibule” more than once.
Finally
So what is an accelerometer in a phone? Is this a new control system or is it a device for measuring physical parameters? I hasten to please you: both that and another. This is another achievement of technological progress that allows a person to feel additional comfort and increase the efficiency of using an object with applied technology.
Automatic screen rotation, implemented in modern smartphones and tablets, is a useful feature for many users. This is especially true for gamers playing entertainment applications on mobile devices. With an accelerometer, it’s very convenient to control the game.
This device makes it possible to use a smartphone as a spirit level, install applications and play in a comfortable game mode, which use data on the device’s position in space.
The essence of the concept of "accelerometer"
Accelerometer - a device for measuring the projection of apparent acceleration. This concept implies the difference between the present and gravitational acceleration of an object. A spring, a damper, a sensitive mass are the three components of the device.
A spring attached to a fixed surface is connected to the mass. And the damper supporting the spring dampens or prevents vibrations. When an object accelerates, the spring changes shape. And the readings of the accelerometer are based precisely on these changes.
By design, the measuring device can be one-component, two-component, three-component. For example, two devices connected in one system (two-component type) measure the position of an object in two-dimensional space.
These measuring devices are applied in four areas:
- Aircraft and rocket navigation systems are based on an accelerometer and a gyroscope.
- When creating video recorders and speedometers for cars, this measuring device is also used. Using an accelerometer, speedometers determine speed based on deviations of the sensitive mass, and DVRs record changes in speed, turns, braking and record files.
- Machines, equipment, production lines are protected by accelerometers. If, for example, the temperature reaches a critical value, the device de-energizes or the operating parameters change.
- Accelerometers also protect hard drives and mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) from external influences. For example, if the smartphone falls, the accelerometer will command the magnetic head and it will take the least dangerous position. In this case, information loss is minimized.
One accelerometer is a simple device, but when assembled, it can solve many problems. Is there a fundamental difference between measuring devices that work on smartphones, tablets and other modern devices?
Accelerometer in the phone: the principle of operation
Devices for modern mobile devices should be compact, since the devices themselves are. In a six-millimeter case, a wide variety of devices should fit, so their design should be as miniature as possible so that it takes up as little space as possible. In fact, in mobile devices, all the details of the accelerometer are enclosed in a miniature chip. This is how it looks on the construction:
The partition, the conductors of which are routed to the side, is attached to the stationary case with special attachments that allow the device to move within specified limits. The conductors placed between the contacts, spaced apart, measure the acceleration projection. When they move between the contacts, a change in the field strength parameters is recorded. This is what the instrument measures.
In the chip, all elements of the device are microscopic, so physically processing them is unrealistic. Accelerometers are produced on conveyors with an automatic principle of operation and the reactions of polyorganosiloxanes with certain substances are used in their manufacture.
Important information! If the accelerometer breaks, contact a specialized service center only.
Why an accelerometer in a smartphone
The first accelerometer, remotely resembling a modern device, appeared in the Nokia 5500 smartphone. Although it was used only as a pedometer, it became instantly popular. And then the measuring device was equipped with an iPhone. Now this is the standard for smartphones, tablets.
Application developers appreciated the functionality of the accelerometer and began to create their own products. Following the pedometer, mobile devices were equipped with an electronic spirit level, and then the capabilities of the measuring device began to be used in the OS and gaming applications.
Some utilities also use the capabilities of the accelerometer. For example, there are programs that transmit information by colliding devices.
A device that measures the projection of apparent acceleration is widely used in gaming applications. This is especially true when creating mobile first-person shooters. In games of this genre, the capabilities of the accelerometer and gyroscope, a device that measures changes in the orientation angles of an object relative to ISO (inertial report system), are used. This allows you to comfortably move around the levels, manage and control the character.
A practical device - an accelerometer, allows you to measure and adjust the speed of vehicles. For the first time such devices appeared in the configuration of Ford and Mercedes-Benz cars. A little later they began to be installed in mobile phones and other technical devices.
Accelerometer in a smartphone
Accelerometer, what is it in the phone and by what principle does it work?
The initial accelerometers were large in size, which did not allow the device to be embedded in a miniature mobile phone case.
Specialists decided to create a miniature chip with an inert mass inside, which tracks acceleration with fixing data on changes in the location of the object.
The general algorithm of the mobile accelerometer does not differ from the basic principle of the original device.
Modern gadgets are also equipped with this small, but very convenient mechanism. The accelerometer in a smartphone or tablet allows you to save important data, measures the level of displacement from the level of the state of rest, tracks human activity, and also recognizes and demonstrates the location in space.
Other important functions of the accelerometer in a mobile phone:
- measurement of the number of steps (pedometer);
- provides convenient control by instant response to a change in the position of the device;
- flips the screen when changing position, creating the most comfortable conditions for the operation of the gadget.
By the way, most modern smartphones are also equipped with a gyroscope.
The gyroscope in the phone provides the gadget with the function of changing the orientation of the device from portrait to landscape, depending on its location. The first gyro sensor in the mobile industry was installed in iPhone 4.
New features of the phone won over users and this idea was soon picked up by other manufacturing companies. Many modern smartphones already have an accelerometer and a gyroscope that improve the functionality of the gadget.
Accelerometer Function in Fitness Watch
In watches and in fitness bracelets, the accelerometer performs the control function:
- measures the number of steps;
- calculates the speed and distance traveled;
- sets how much energy a person spent during training;
- recognizes heart rate.
All information is automatically recorded during a person’s sleep and wakefulness. Such data is stored in the report of the installed application. A very convenient device for those who play sports and monitor their health!
Accelerometer function in the DVR
Car DVRs have long been equipped with an accelerometer chip. This device captures sudden changes in traffic and ensures the safety of video files from the registrar.
The accelerometer in the DVR also performs:
- collection of information about car acceleration and its storage in a computer;
- when defining “disturbing events” (for example, sudden braking, shock or turn), it starts the recorder to turn on automatically, which could be turned off at that time;
- prevent accidental deletion of video recordings at the time of "disturbing events" by storing this information in a special separate folder.
Simply put, an accelerometer is a very necessary and convenient thing, successfully applied in different directions.
Surely you have heard more than once that many smartphones are equipped with an accelerometer. We tell inexperienced users what it is and why it is needed.
In an understandable language, an accelerometer (also called a G-sensor) is a sensor that determines the angle of inclination of a smartphone or tablet relative to the earth's surface. It measures acceleration by comparing three spatial coordinate axes: X (width), Y (length) and Z (height).
Based on accelerometer data, the gadget software changes the orientation of the phone screen. If you rotate the device with the built-in G-sensor 90 degrees, the display will flip the image automatically.
In the smartphone, the accelerometer is installed in the form of a small chip or sensor, several times smaller than a 10-kopek coin. Despite this, it provides many functions of modern Android devices.
Why do I need a G-sensor?
Sports enthusiasts can use the accelerometer to determine the number of steps taken using special pedometer applications. They can be built into the smartphone, or they will have to be downloaded from Google Play.
For fans of gaming applications on smartphones, the G-sensor is just a godsend. It will allow you to control the game process by turning the smartphone. Since the accelerometer reacts to the slightest changes in the angle of inclination, the application will instantly respond to any of your actions. This applies to games of various genres, especially racing.
Also, auto-rotate the screen will add convenience when watching movies and photos, as well as reading electronic books.
If you often go to the forest for mushrooms or for other reasons, be aware that you probably have a compass in your pocket. Typically, this is a preinstalled application that works with a G-sensor.
By installing the “level” application, you can forget about the bulky construction device. And here everything is in the accelerometer - it will allow you to determine the evenness of the wall or the exact angle of its inclination.
Of course, if you do not use all of this, the accelerometer will even bother you a little by constantly changing the screen orientation. But you can always turn it off by going to the screen settings.
Conclusion
Despite its modest size, the accelerometer adds a lot of different features to smartphones. For this reason, manufacturers equip the G-sensor in most modern devices.
Accelerometer, or G-sensor - a determining sensor tilt angle device relative to the earth. Every smartphone owner uses this feature, like auto-rotate screen, and fans of mobile games were faced with driving by tilting the phone.
This sensor complements the functional capabilities of the smartphone. Here is a basic list of it functions:
- Auto rotate screen when changing the orientation of the smartphone in space.
- Control in games
- Reaction apparatus for specific gestures, and certain operations (changing the music track, turning off the alarm or canceling the call). For example, shaking the phone, “tapping” movements or turning the phone screen down.
- Recognition and demonstration location in space with the help of various, including navigation, programs. For example, a compass.
- Activity tracking person. The most common use is counting the number of steps and distance traveled
The principle of operation of the device
The accelerometer is small chipinstalled on the board of your device. Simply explained, it consists of inert mass attached to mobileflexible component. This component is attached to the fixed element. In order to suppress random or unnecessary micro-vibrations, the inert mass is attached to damper.
During a rotation period in space or shaking, an inertial mass built into the accelerometer reacts on inert power. The higher the tilt, rotation or shaking force, the more the moving part is deformed. After all this, the inertial mass returns to its original position thanks to the flexible, movable component of the accelerometer chip.
The sensor measures level of displacement from the level of the state of rest. This information is converted into an electrical signal, and then sent for processing by electronics and software. Thanks to the information provided, the program is able to determine the differences in physical changes in the location of the smartphone.
But it has been described simplified model accelerometer operation. Making mobile accelerometers requires tremendous precision in calculations and proportions. You cannot create it manually, the manufacturing process is automated and a chemical reaction is applied among the various elements. The accelerometer allows you to switch to another, more convenient level of device and game control.
