Accelerometer
Captures device motion in the x, y, and z direction.
Methods
Arguments
Objects (Read-Only)
accelerometer.getCurrentAcceleration
Get the current acceleration along the x, y, and z axis.
navigator.accelerometer.getCurrentAcceleration(accelerometerSuccess, accelerometerError);
Description
The accelerometer is a motion sensor that detects the change (delta) in movement relative to the current device orientation. The accelerometer can detect 3D movement along the x, y, and z axis.
The acceleration is returned using the accelerometerSuccess callback function.
Supported Platforms
- Android
- BlackBerry WebWorks (OS 5.0 and higher)
- iPhone
Quick Example
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
alert('Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '\n' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '\n' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '\n' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '\n');
};
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
};
navigator.accelerometer.getCurrentAcceleration(onSuccess, onError);
Full Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Acceleration Example</title>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">
// Wait for PhoneGap to load
//
document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
// PhoneGap is ready
//
function onDeviceReady() {
navigator.accelerometer.getCurrentAcceleration(onSuccess, onError);
}
// onSuccess: Get a snapshot of the current acceleration
//
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
alert('Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '\n' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '\n' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '\n' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '\n');
}
// onError: Failed to get the acceleration
//
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Example</h1>
<p>getCurrentAcceleration</p>
</body>
</html>
iPhone Quirks
- iPhone doesn't have the concept of getting the current acceleration at any given point.
- You must watch the acceleration and capture the data at given time intervals.
- Thus, the
getCurrentAccelerationfunction will give you the last value reported from a phoneGapwatchAccelerometercall.
accelerometer.watchAcceleration
At a regular interval, get the acceleration along the x, y, and z axis.
var watchID = navigator.accelerometer.watchAcceleration(accelerometerSuccess,
accelerometerError,
[accelerometerOptions]);
Description
The accelerometer is a motion sensor that detects the change (delta) in movement relative to the current position. The accelerometer can detect 3D movement along the x, y, and z axis.
The accelerometer.watchAcceleration gets the device's current acceleration at a regular interval. Each time the Acceleration is retrieved, the accelerometerSuccess callback function is executed. Specify the interval in milliseconds via the frequency parameter in the acceleratorOptions object.
The returned watch ID references references the accelerometer watch interval. The watch ID can be used with accelerometer.clearWatch to stop watching the accelerometer.
Supported Platforms
- Android
- BlackBerry WebWorks (OS 5.0 and higher)
- iPhone
Quick Example
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
alert('Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '\n' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '\n' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '\n' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '\n');
};
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
};
var options = { frequency: 3000 }; // Update every 3 seconds
var watchID = navigator.accelerometer.watchAcceleration(onSuccess, onError, options);
Full Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Acceleration Example</title>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">
// The watch id references the current `watchAcceleration`
var watchID = null;
// Wait for PhoneGap to load
//
document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
// PhoneGap is ready
//
function onDeviceReady() {
startWatch();
}
// Start watching the acceleration
//
function startWatch() {
// Update acceleration every 3 seconds
var options = { frequency: 3000 };
watchID = navigator.accelerometer.watchAcceleration(onSuccess, onError, options);
}
// Stop watching the acceleration
//
function stopWatch() {
if (watchID) {
navigator.accelerometer.clearWatch(watchID);
watchID = null;
}
}
// onSuccess: Get a snapshot of the current acceleration
//
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
var element = document.getElementById('accelerometer');
element.innerHTML = 'Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '<br />' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '<br />' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '<br />' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '<br />';
}
// onError: Failed to get the acceleration
//
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="accelerometer">Waiting for accelerometer...</div>
</body>
</html>
iPhone Quirks
- At the interval requested, PhoneGap will call the success callback function and pass the accelerometer results.
- However, in requests to the device PhoneGap restricts the interval to minimum of every 40ms and a maximum of every 1000ms.
- For example, if you request an interval of 3 seconds (3000ms), PhoneGap will request an interval of 1 second from the device but invoke the success callback at the requested interval of 3 seconds.
accelerometer.clearWatch
Stop watching the Acceleration referenced by the watch ID parameter.
navigator.accelerometer.clearWatch(watchID);
-
watchID: The ID returned by
accelerometer.watchAcceleration.
Supported Platforms
- Android
- BlackBerry WebWorks (OS 5.0 and higher)
- iPhone
Quick Example
var watchID = navigator.accelerometer.watchAcceleration(onSuccess, onError, options);
// ... later on ...
navigator.accelerometer.clearWatch(watchID);
Full Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Acceleration Example</title>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">
// The watch id references the current `watchAcceleration`
var watchID = null;
// Wait for PhoneGap to load
//
document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
// PhoneGap is ready
//
function onDeviceReady() {
startWatch();
}
// Start watching the acceleration
//
function startWatch() {
// Update acceleration every 3 seconds
var options = { frequency: 3000 };
watchID = navigator.accelerometer.watchAcceleration(onSuccess, onError, options);
}
// Stop watching the acceleration
//
function stopWatch() {
if (watchID) {
navigator.accelerometer.clearWatch(watchID);
watchID = null;
}
}
// onSuccess: Get a snapshot of the current acceleration
//
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
var element = document.getElementById('accelerometer');
element.innerHTML = 'Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '<br />' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '<br />' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '<br />' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '<br />';
}
// onError: Failed to get the acceleration
//
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="accelerometer">Waiting for accelerometer...</div>
<button onclick="stopWatch();">Stop Watching</button>
</body>
</html>
Acceleration
Contains Accelerometer data captured at a specific point in time.
Properties
-
x: Amount of motion on the x-axis. Range [0, 1] (
Number) -
y: Amount of motion on the y-axis. Range [0, 1] (
Number) -
z: Amount of motion on the z-axis. Range [0, 1] (
Number) -
timestamp: Creation timestamp in milliseconds. (
DOMTimeStamp)
Description
This object is created and populated by PhoneGap, and returned by an Accelerometer method.
Supported Platforms
- Android
- BlackBerry WebWorks (OS 5.0 and higher)
- iPhone
- Windows Phone 7 ( Mango )
Quick Example
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
alert('Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '\n' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '\n' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '\n' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '\n');
};
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
};
navigator.accelerometer.getCurrentAcceleration(onSuccess, onError);
Full Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Acceleration Example</title>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="phonegap.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">
// Wait for PhoneGap to load
//
document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
// PhoneGap is ready
//
function onDeviceReady() {
navigator.accelerometer.getCurrentAcceleration(onSuccess, onError);
}
// onSuccess: Get a snapshot of the current acceleration
//
function onSuccess() {
alert('Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '\n' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '\n' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '\n' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '\n');
}
// onError: Failed to get the acceleration
//
function onError() {
alert('onError!');
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Example</h1>
<p>getCurrentAcceleration</p>
</body>
</html>
accelerometerSuccess
onSuccess callback function that provides the Acceleration information.
function(acceleration) {
// Do something
}
Parameters
- acceleration: The acceleration at a single moment in time. (Acceleration)
Example
function onSuccess(acceleration) {
alert('Acceleration X: ' + acceleration.x + '\n' +
'Acceleration Y: ' + acceleration.y + '\n' +
'Acceleration Z: ' + acceleration.z + '\n' +
'Timestamp: ' + acceleration.timestamp + '\n');
};
accelerometerError
onError callback function for acceleration functions.
function() {
// Handle the error
}
accelerometerOptions
An optional parameter to customize the retrieval of the accelerometer.
Options
-
frequency: How often to retrieve the
Accelerationin milliseconds. (Number) (Default: 10000)