Originally published at: http://www.sitepoint.com/using-android-sensors-application/
Monitoring applications are gaining in popularity, from parents wanting to track their children’s location and online activity to spouses and employers wishing to monitor their respective spouses and employees. In this article, we will deviate from the moral and ethical issues and focus on the technical aspects. Let’s take the Android sensor as an example.
The Android sensor returns values that can be divided into three main categories: movement, location and environment.
An Accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration (or ‘g-force’) and is commonly used to detect motion (shake and tilt). In mobile monitoring, an accelerometer could be used to monitor older people who live alone. With the accelerometer monitoring falling velocity to detect whether the person has fallen down. If a fall is detected, a caretaker receives a message alert.
According to Dan Morrill (Android Compatibility and Open Source Program Manager at Google), to use the API correctly you should follow the following three rules :
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