Measurement application ideas

[Snoman002]

Are the speaker and microphone on the TP accurate enough to use them for a sonic measuring tool/range finder? You know, send out a sound pulse, measure the time it takes for an echo to return and calculate the distance from the phone to the object.

Or, could the g-sensor be used for a similar thing, start the app, slide the phone along the object, stop sliding, and it gives you the measurement.

I looked some but I couldnt find anything along these lines.

[crazychef]

stuff like that uses lasers, IR, or in expensive cases sonar... sorry, but our phnes have neither.. well IR for beam,but its weak.. now if we had the IR strength out of a WII remote, you could b in biz..

so i say no... now for an app, i just say something yesterday, that takes a picture of what u want to measure and gives u real time measurments... give me a few, ill see if i cant find it for ya ..

edit: do u have specific uses in mind?? like household stuff(windows,walls,etc) or what my inital search if finding serveral things, but ones for CAD measurements, ones for surveying fields.. im sure il fund a more common use one, but if u need all those big extras too, ill try to find an all inclusive type deal

[XV6700Dummy]

SonarCE actually works but setting it up precisely to the acoustic and ambient conditions is a bit tedious.

However, I've played with it quite a bit. It is viable if you can get your skull wrapped around it and have the time. My guess is somebody should consider developing this piece a bit more making it

well Dummy Proof

Black Ruler (uses the camera and you insert a credit card in the pic to scale) is pretty cool and somewhere I found another, not PRuler but maybe just Ruler, that will scale out measurements and also angles. They all require user definition of the referenced scale item, be it credit card or length of some line on the screen.


There are also some caliper programs, very small and light, and they will measure items small enough to fit on the screen. One I found is very handy and if you have good eyes, it will reward you with better than 0.010 accuracy. Better than a measuring tape.

I can dig and get the names if any of these sound intriguing to you.

A shame is the elimination of the IrDa port. I don't think that piece of hardware was ever fully exploited on our PPC's.

[crazychef]

yup that was what i saw, i knew it had somethin to do with with a credit card lol...

why not post the other app, or any apps your talking about, so maybe someone can tweak the one your talking abpout... and the OP can try out the other

[Mylt1]

crazy, we dont have IR(beam) on the TP. the titan has it but its not on the TP's.

[Snoman002]

Thanks for the replies!

I understand that quality measurement devices use lasers or quality ultrasonic emitters, but then they can also measure with great accuracy over great distances. I was thinking more for small distances, say if I wanted a quick measurement of my front porch before I ran up to Lowes' for some lumber. Or allow the quick ability to take a quick measurement of something small by placing a notebook or something at one end and the phone at the other. And really, I was only thinking of only measuring to large objects, a notebook, a wall, etc.
SonarCE looks like its it, but reading the webpage on it does make it sound quite difficult to use.

I did see the "compare to picture" measuring utility, and I have heard about the CC one (and the CC scam one, lol), I had not heard of the on screen caliper, that sounds interesting.

Anything done for G-Sensor? Seems to me that if you ran your phone over every edge on a stationary box or something similar you could calculate the size of each side, and even the interior volume, if not 3D model the object.

[LoneSnark]

XV6700Dummy, Black Ruler sounds awesome!!! Where can we get it?

[XV6700Dummy]

http://pda.wareseeker.com/download/s....19.rar/323958

I didn't dig deep enough to find all the sites which discuss this program but I am pretty sure I recall reading lots of stuff on the author's site

caliperCppc1 I believe is the caliper program name but I am sure there are many others

SuperRuler Free 1.0 does inches mm and angles


photogrammetry........ now this is something to ponder now that the camera's are high resolution and autofocus

which means the camera knows the focal length and if a user is taking defined perspective pix

the Jetson replicator machine is quite possible

there are several open source photo to 3D dimensioned model programs

http://www.wings3d.com/

http://www.looxis.com/en/k75.Downloa...o-download.htm

I think Google has a free one called Sketchup?

Rhinophoto is worth looking at but the better stuff doesn't require all the markers to generate an accurate point cloud

the black ruler came from x-pda the best i can recall

however, a thinking man will be able to figure out that these programs which require user defined inputs for the program to scale and then extrapolate dimensions, are missing the next dimension in exploiting the full potential

this is assuming the Auto Focus is able to determine at least one reliable distance involved

I don't see any infrared so perhaps the focusing is simply digital and unable to actually determine actual distance to lens?

well the phones have more potential even if it requires waiting on snapdragon

if you have never been to a large professional machinery show.... five years ago the Jetson Replicator stuff pretty much became reality

now it's getting much faster and cheaper