Demo of Digital Compass Used in an iPhone App

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/24/demo-of-digital-compass-used-in-an-iphone-app/)

iPhone developer Ziconic (http://www.ziconic.com/Ziconic/Ziconic_Home.html) has already started taking advantage of the new iPhone 3GS's digital compass in a prototype build of its AirCoaster 3D iPhone application.

AirCoaster 3D is an existing application that allows users to design and ride 3D roller coasters on their iPhones and iPod touches. They've since posted a video of a prototype version that takes advantage of the iPhone 3GS's digital compass.

This version of the app allows the user to move the iPhone around in real life to obtain a different view out of the in-app roller coaster. This feature is expected to come in a future update to the application.

App Store Link: Air Coaster, $0.99 (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=304605624&mt=8) (no compass support in current version)

Article Link: Demo of Digital Compass Used in an iPhone App (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/24/demo-of-digital-compass-used-in-an-iphone-app/)

[randfee2]

well.... you should mention the obvious use of the accelerometer as well, look up/downwards. I honestly don't see the compass being used here in a classical way, since when the roller coaster does a 360 and the viewing angle would be fixed to one geographic direction (which would be a fixed one), the view should spin 360° as well, always looking the same way.

What I see is them using the compass as a directional pointer for a view relative to the coaster itself, not the surrounding. That is cool indeed... So you can basically use your iPhone as a "VR window"

[painimies]

That, was indeed very, very cool.

[jayducharme]

I wasn't aware of this app till I saw it here. For 99 cents, it's worth it. It reminds me of the old PC game Supercoast. Now if No Limits releases an iPhone version, I'd be amazed and thrilled. I'd also get a lot less work done....

[jlwillia]

This app. is pretty cool looking, but is somewhat pointless. Nevertheless, I understand its significance. I can't wait to see some of the non-game apps take advantage of this!

[Auzburner]

That's some sahweet stuff they got there!

[zjmuse]

well.... you should mention the obvious use of the accelerometer as well, look up/downwards. I honestly don't see the compass being used here in a classical way, since when the roller coaster does a 360 and the viewing angle would be fixed to one geographic direction (which would be a fixed one), the view should spin 360° as well, always looking the same way.

What I see is them using the compass as a directional pointer for a view relative to the coaster itself, not the surrounding. That is cool indeed... So you can basically use your iPhone as a "VR window"

Pretty sure that was the point. What would the point of always looking north (or whatever direction) in a game?

[billchase2]

I see that you can download tracks that other users have created. Are there a lot of real roller coasters you can ride? For example, The Raptor from Cedar Point?

[kas23]

This app. is pretty cool looking, but is somewhat pointless. Nevertheless, I understand its significance. I can't wait to see some of the non-game apps take advantage of this!

Without a doubt, the flood gates of killer apps that use the magnetometer have opened. All you haters can now be silenced. [/sarcasm]

[mlgacc]

i am sick of hearing about the iphone..... when will apple get to real applications like final cut studio ? and bluray support.

[Pika]

It's like a virtual world within the real world.

[KindredMAC]

Now imagine this tech built into some eyewear that could be plugged into a PS3 for a game like COD:Modern Warfare 2..... You could look all around your environment without taking your aim off your target. It would make 360's Project Natal look childish. Even imagine a Resident Evil game where you could look over your shoulder to see a Zombie ready to pounce on you..... shivers.......

[Skika]

OMG i want:eek:.

The coolness of building your own roller-coaster ride is over 9000.

[bentoon]

I think this is Brilliant

[Pika]

Now imagine this tech built into some eyewear that could be plugged into a PS3 for a game like COD:Modern Warfare 2..... You could look all around your environment without taking your aim off your target. It would make 360's Project Natal look childish. Even imagine a Resident Evil game where you could look over your shoulder to see a Zombie ready to pounce on you..... shivers.......

Like playing a racing video game (like Grand Theft Auto) while driving ? :eek: Or playing Doom while hunting ? ... But instead of hunting animals your hunting zombies, aliens and monsters ?

[michael.lauden]

i am sick of hearing about the iphone..... when will apple get to real applications like final cut studio ? and bluray support.

.....


first of all. final cut just had an update, and bluray is supported as a data medium.

second of all.

Apple isn't making these applications. Sounds like somebody is out of the loop a bit

[Nutter]

you should mention the obvious use of the accelerometer as well, look up/downwards.

This demo does not appear to use the accelerometer. The magnetometer is three-axis, remember.

[Pika]

Where getting close to the Matrix folks.The magnetometer is three-axis, remember.Yes.

Coverflow = X
Accelerometer = XY
Magnetometer = XYZ

That makes sense !

Accelerometer = iPhone position
Magnetometer = iPhone location

[Saladinos]

Very cool

[Donz0r]

Where getting close to the Matrix folks.Yes.

Coverflow = X
Accelerometer = XY
Magnetometer = XYZ

That makes sense !

Actually Accelerometer = XYZ but it only measures Acceleration. The compass measure the exact orientation in all 3 directions.

And the the Accelerometer was not used in this demo, all of the rotating was doing using the compass.

[RTiii320]

pretty neat, just imagine what's too come with the capabilities that the iPhone contains.

[slapppy]

Wow... I hope the haters that panned the digital compass features are finally realizing what else it can be used for. :)

[lowbatteries]

First: Is anyone else sick of people not only taking the time to read the iPhone news, but taking the time to follow the post to the comments and then reply how much they hate iPhone news? Get an rss reader, simply skip the articles that don't interest you, and stop pissing and moaning in the comments.

Second: wouldn't this be a little weird if you're playing this game while riding on a bus, the bus turns a corner and all of a sudden your view is turned around? Seems like any games that depended on it for interaction would be very hard to play while in motion. They need a 'life signs' detector, so they can detect the iphone's orientation to you.

[coolfactor]

.....
second of all.

Apple isn't making these applications. Sounds like somebody is out of the loop a bit

Final Cut is an Apple application, unless you meant something else?

To michael lauden, just wait until Snow Leopard is released. All of the current applications will be like new again.

[gseed]

In order to enlighten everyone, I thought I'd share the news that the Siddur (Jewish prayerbook) app has demoed a 'Mizrach compass', which points users in the direction of Jerusalem based on the coordinates, which is the correct direction of prayer according to traditional Jewish law. This long-awaited feature, which was only made possible by the compass feature, should hopefully be released soon...

See the link here for more info...

http://www.cartoonbarry.com/2009/06/preview_of_mizrach_compass_for.html

[jaison13]

that seems like so much work. i'm glad the developers of this are getting a lot of coverage. it's only $.99 so everyone should buy it. i have it and already thought it was really cool. but this version blows the original away!! they should easily sell a few million.

[b1wils1]

that rules. maybe the Myst programmers could incorporate that.

[Clark Gable]

Oh sweet ANOTHER useless article about the very small upgrade to the iphone. Can we post another 50 threads of "hey look how much faster you can plug in the charger cable then the regular 3g" macrumors?

[mrcrapperson]

Final Cut is an Apple application, unless you meant something else?

To michael lauden, just wait until Snow Leopard is released. All of the current applications will be like new again.

Pretty sure the application in question was Air Coaster. Everyone knows Final Cut is made by Apple. The point is that Apple is not wasting R&D on making nifty roller coaster apps for the iPhone - 3rd party developers are taking care of that for them.

[Donz0r]

Oh sweet ANOTHER useless article about the very small upgrade to the iphone. Can we post another 50 threads of "hey look how much faster you can plug in the charger cable then the regular 3g" macrumors?

Woah, somebody couldn't upgrade their 3G! :rolleyes:

It's actually a pretty major upgrade, I pity you for being such a little b!tch though.

[itsmenyc]

First: Is anyone else sick of people not only taking the time to read the iPhone news, but taking the time to follow the post to the comments and then reply how much they hate iPhone news? Get an rss reader, simply skip the articles that don't interest you, and stop pissing and moaning in the comments.

Second: wouldn't this be a little weird if you're playing this game while riding on a bus, the bus turns a corner and all of a sudden your view is turned around? Seems like any games that depended on it for interaction would be very hard to play while in motion. They need a 'life signs' detector, so they can detect the iphone's orientation to you.

I was thinking the same thing. You wouldn't have to be in a bus, how about on a couch and you start playing the game sitting up, then decide to lie down on your back, then shift to one side or the other.

[room237]

i am sick of hearing about the iphone..... when will apple get to real applications like final cut studio ? and bluray support.

Then stop clicking on the iPhone articles.

I still want to hear about the iPhone.

Oh wait, I forgot... this website is all about you.

[Pika]

Oh sweet ANOTHER useless article about the very small upgrade to the iphone. Can we post another 50 threads of "hey look how much faster you can plug in the charger cable then the regular 3g" macrumors?

But it's 2 times faster then the iPhone 3G ! Plus it have compass ! :eek::eek::eek:

[Lepton]

Stand and hold the phone near your chest, parallel to the ground, screen facing up to the ceiling.

Raise the top edge of the phone (with the sleep/wake switch) so the screen is facing you. This is "pitch". The accelerometer can detect it.

From the starting position, raise the left edge (with the volume controls) so the screen is facing right. This is "roll". The accelerometer can detect it.

From the starting position, you yourself make a left face move. This is "yaw". The accelerometer can not (easily) detect it. That's because what the accelerometer tells the device is (when not in motion) the direction to the center of the Earth (the direction of gravity) and this move has not changed it.

The compass detects change in yaw and that is why it is an important addition. With this in mind, you can see that most of the movements in the movie are changes in yaw and used the magnetometer.

[nagromme]

Wow, very smooth! Considering how much an analog compass leaps around in my hand, I wasn't that optimistic!

Back when the iPhone was new and I wrongly assumed it already had this, I had all kinds of game ideas for it. Now they can live again :)

[kurono]

Stand and hold the phone near your chest, parallel to the ground, screen facing up to the ceiling.

Raise the top edge of the phone (with the sleep/wake switch) so the screen is facing you. This is "pitch". The accelerometer can detect it.

From the starting position, raise the left edge (with the volume controls) so the screen is facing right. This is "roll". The accelerometer can detect it.

From the starting position, you yourself make a left face move. This is "yaw". The accelerometer can not (easily) detect it. That's because what the accelerometer tells the device is (when not in motion) the direction to the center of the Earth (the direction of gravity) and this move has not changed it.

The compass detects change in yaw and that is why it is an important addition. With this in mind, you can see that most of the movements in the movie are changes in yaw and used the magnetometer.

Thanks, nice summary.

How about this:
Imagine the iPhone lying on a carpet, so there isn't any angle that's changed.
If I shift it now in one direction, say about 2ft (~60cm), this doesn't significantly change any sensor value, does it?

[smileyborg]

Stand and hold the phone near your chest, parallel to the ground, screen facing up to the ceiling.

Raise the top edge of the phone (with the sleep/wake switch) so the screen is facing you. This is "pitch". The accelerometer can detect it.

From the starting position, raise the left edge (with the volume controls) so the screen is facing right. This is "roll". The accelerometer can detect it.

From the starting position, you yourself make a left face move. This is "yaw". The accelerometer can not (easily) detect it. That's because what the accelerometer tells the device is (when not in motion) the direction to the center of the Earth (the direction of gravity) and this move has not changed it.

The compass detects change in yaw and that is why it is an important addition. With this in mind, you can see that most of the movements in the movie are changes in yaw and used the magnetometer.

Good explanation, you are right-on with it. I predict some cool additions coming to flight sim apps soon as well :) (Rudder control --> yaw) I'd like to see a sailing simulator come out now as well, like Virtual Skipper.

Also, a natural addition for the compass is to the Street View...I mean come on! This is such a "Duh!" ....to be able to spin around and see Google's version of your location vs. what you see in person. And the accelerometer can be used to control looking up or down.

Which brings me back to this roller coaster demo. This is very similar to the offerings of ImmersiveMedia (http://www.immersivemedia.com/). They are the company that provides the cameras to Google for street view. They have these awesome "dome" cameras that capture 360 degrees of video, so you can play them back and look in any direction you want. Same idea as street view, but think about if a movie were filmed with one of these cameras, and you could watch it on your iPhone/iPod touch in a special app that uses the magnetometer and accelerometer to let you look around in a semi-interactive manner as you watch the movie! I'm sure it will come out eventually...pretty cool stuff.

[smileyborg]

Thanks, nice summary.

How about this:
Imagine the iPhone lying on a carpet, so there isn't any angle that's changed.
If I shift it now in one direction, say about 2ft (~60cm), this doesn't significantly change any sensor value, does it?

Well, the movement from your start position to end position required you to accelerate and decelerate the phone, so the accelerometer would pick up that.

But assuming that acceleration is negligible, the only sensor on the iPhone that detects the constant velocity your phone travels at between start and end (or the change in position from start to end) is the GPS. So with a combo of all three sensors (GPS, magnetometer, and accelerometer), you can really do a lot.

[BTW]

That's awesome! It has a lot of potential for first-person games like DOOM.

I could see this for other 3D apps like walkthroughs of buildings and maybe even the human body for medical purposes.

[twoodcc]

cool. looking forward to seeing future apps take advantage of the compass as well

[LeeTom]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Um, Google Earth already uses the compass. Been using it since 3GS day!

[smileyborg]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Um, Google Earth already uses the compass. Been using it since 3GS day!

Google Earth on the iPhone does not currently use the compass. It only uses the accelerometer to look up and down ("autotilt"). There has been no update to the app since the 3G S was released, and until that happens, it won't support input from the compass.

[Dagless]

That's fairly intense. Can't wait to see what other apps and games make use of this. Hope that proposed Google Maps thing where you point your iPhone at a landmark and get all the details comes into fruition.

[everettmarshall]

Wow...imagine this tech deployed on headgear with with a flight sim. Wicked.

[hypermark]

Now imagine this tech built into some eyewear that could be plugged into a PS3 for a game like COD:Modern Warfare 2..... You could look all around your environment without taking your aim off your target. It would make 360's Project Natal look childish. Even imagine a Resident Evil game where you could look over your shoulder to see a Zombie ready to pounce on you..... shivers.......

Along those lines, I blogged on the topic of 3D/VR glasses as an iPhone accessory for O'Reilly:

3D Glasses: Virtual Reality, Meet the iPhone
http://bit.ly/7WqGi

Check it out, if interested.

Mark

[orangeguy81]

Someone needs to make a FPS for the iphone so you can move around to shoot!!!

[mlgacc]

.....


first of all. final cut just had an update, and bluray is supported as a data medium.

second of all.

Apple isn't making these applications. Sounds like somebody is out of the loop a bit

data medium? there is NO support to author bluray discs for FCP. and i dont care who makes the apps its all you ever hear about on here.... look at the last 20 threads probably 18 are about the iphone. nothing against you bud but its getting a little tiresome.

[mlgacc]

Then stop clicking on the iPhone articles.

I still want to hear about the iPhone.

Oh wait, I forgot... this website is all about you.

actually its all about the iphone

[delson4]

Where getting close to the Matrix folks.Yes.

Coverflow = X
Accelerometer = XY
Magnetometer = XYZ

That makes sense !

Accelerometer = iPhone position
Magnetometer = iPhone location

No, no... I created an account just to reply...

First of all, you are mixing applications (Coverflow) with hardware elements (Accelerometer, Magnetometer).

You're right that the accelerometer covers two dimensions but the magnetometer covers just one. They complement each other to make three.

The accelerometer measures the phone's orientation with respect to gravity. So it can measure pitch and roll, because as you pitch and roll the phone one end is going to be higher than the other end and the accelerometer can detect the slope.

When you yaw the phone its orientation does NOT change with respect to gravity. It remains flat all around. So for 12 months Apple has told developers, "we can give you the location, pitch and roll of the phone, but not the yaw."

The magnetometer fills in the yaw by using the magnetic field of the Earth rather than the gravitational field. Now developers have everything about position and orientation. (Except a more precise GPS antenna...)

This app uses both the accelerometer and the magnetometer to show how pitch, yaw and roll all work in unison, and I think it looks great.

[MrSmith]

I just vomited all over my screen. Think I'll stick with side-scrollers.

[DELLsFan]

Oh sweet ANOTHER useless article about the very small upgrade to the iphone. Can we post another 50 threads of "hey look how much faster you can plug in the charger cable then the regular 3g" macrumors?

For real! I love my iPhone ... but damn - I don't think the new 13" MBP has got this much buzz! :eek:

[-wiseguy-]

this hurts my head haha;)

[iNassar]

seems a nice app for a good price ... perfect for showing the new iphone´s performance

[smileyborg]

No, no... I created an account just to reply...

First of all, you are mixing applications (Coverflow) with hardware elements (Accelerometer, Magnetometer).

You're right that the accelerometer covers two dimensions but the magnetometer covers just one. They complement each other to make three.

The accelerometer measures the phone's orientation with respect to gravity. So it can measure pitch and roll, because as you pitch and roll the phone one end is going to be higher than the other end and the accelerometer can detect the slope.

When you yaw the phone its orientation does NOT change with respect to gravity. It remains flat all around. So for 12 months Apple has told developers, "we can give you the location, pitch and roll of the phone, but not the yaw."

The magnetometer fills in the yaw by using the magnetic field of the Earth rather than the gravitational field. Now developers have everything about position and orientation. (Except a more precise GPS antenna...)

This app uses both the accelerometer and the magnetometer to show how pitch, yaw and roll all work in unison, and I think it looks great.

That's actually not quite correct...the magnetometer works in 3 axes...in other words, it locates magnetic north as an absolute vector in 3D...so saying you point your iPhone's screen upwards with the headphone jack pointing directly to the magnetic north pole of the Earth. Then ANY movement from this position will be measured by the magnetometer -- not the movement itself, but the resulting end position. The "Compass" app is only a 2D compass, but it could theoretically be a 3D one with a 3D arrow that points to the Earth's magnetic pole (sometimes this would be up on the screen, sometimes to the left, etc...but also sometimes IN TO and OUT OF the screen.)

The accelerometer is actually capable of detecting acceleration on 3 axes as well, the limitation is that it is designed to be sensitive to acceleration on a scale relative to the magnitude of gravity. So it DOES sense a yaw-motion as we have discussed, but that "yaw" is so negligible in magnitude compared to the pull of Earth's gravity that it doesn't do very well with the interpretation of the motion. To illustrate further, imagine holding your iPhone flat in front of you with the screen upwards. A tilt left or right, or a tilt up or down changes the phone's orientation relative to gravity...making a easily measurable change for the accelerometer. But if you just spin the phone keeping the screen up ("yaw"), the phone has not changed in any way relative to gravity (ie the phone remains in the same z-plane). This motion is not easily detected by the accelerometer, as the acceleration you create by spinning it is far less than the pull of gravity on the phone. But now, imagine the phone being held in front of you with the screen facing you, as you hold it when steering a car in a driving game app. Now, that same "yaw" motion (turning the iPhone left and right) DOES change the phone's position relative to gravity, and a tilt forwards or backwards also does...so these motions are registered by the accelerometer. However, now you have lost a different axis -- the twisting of the device (moving either the headphone port or dock port closer or farther).

[randfee2]

i really wonder how accurate this magnetometer is, wanna see an app with a direct readout of 3 axis fieldstrength, can any of the developers just do that for free... I guess it'd be a 5 minute job with the magnetometers api.

[oticon6]

I honestly don't see the compass being used here in a classical way, since when the roller coaster does a 360 and the viewing angle would be fixed to one geographic direction (which would be a fixed one), the view should spin 360° as well, always looking the same way.

Sorry if someone has already mentioned this... but...

That would make no sense. If you're sitting in a rollercoaster, and it turns a corner, your head turns with it. If your head is tilted 90 degrees to the left of when you started, you're looking out the left side of the cart.

[iPhoneNYC]

I think the compass will be very useful when someone figures out what to do with it. I don't hink this is the answer yet..