×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

(OP)
I was looking for a backlogging accelerometer and realized that is what the activity trackers like Fitbits do. Has anyone been able adapt one of those for engineering testing?
Can you get the raw acceleration data out instead of steps?
Which one do your recommend?

ProEpro
www.whitelightdesign.com

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

I doubt Fitbit is going to open their API. However, you can probably access smart phone accelerometer API through their dev kits.

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

We tried using cell phones to measure acceleration of a large X-Ray machine that we moved on air bearings. It didn't work. They seemed to be a lack of sensitivity to our speeds. We just used the phones with no hacking.

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

(OP)
I need something closer to the size and cost of the activity tracker then a phone. I just found the TI sensortag. It appears to do what I need but maybe too big. Are there other things like it that i should look at?

ProEpro
www.whitelightdesign.com

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

Long before the fitbit, joggers could buy step counters. Inside, nothing but a metal ball rolling around a cavity with metal plates on the walls. Every time the ball contacted two plates counted as a step. If you want to cheat, just shake the counter back and forth.

Toy ball for my kid had cheap accelerometers in it. Inside the ball was a cavity with a tiny circuit board and when the ball was bounced, LED's would blink. The accelerometers were just springs, one end soldered to the board. Around each spring was a metal tube, so if the ball was hit hard enough, the spring would touch the tube, making contact. Couldn't shake the ball hard enough by hand to make the spring contact, but dropping it on the floor worked every time. Until the dog chewed it apart, that is... sad

STF

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

(OP)
minimum requirements
A datalogger with an accellerometer that will store and output acceleration data (I maybe able to use step counts).
1 hour of storage O.K. 1 week better.
size equivalent of fitness tracker roughly 6cm X 3cm x 1 cm. Smaller is better.
cost of less than $50 wholesale.

ProEpro
www.whitelightdesign.com

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

I think the required price of $50.00 wholesale answers all technical questions with the answer NO!

Walt

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

(OP)
Greg, this is why I am trying to adapt an activity tracker. All those types of requirements will be the same for my application. The only change I need is software access to the data.

Strong, there are activity trackers that retail for $50 which have the right hardware. So $50 wholesale is not unrealistic.

Thank you IRstuff. It looks like no one here has had any success adapting something. So I will need to get deeper into the hardware. These are very interesting options.

ProEpro
www.whitelightdesign.com

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

Okay, so you can purchase an activity tracker for $50.00, and you believe that it provides the type of data needed for your project. Have you put any type/cost of activity tracker on your project and "looked at" or downloaded the data to see if such a device has promise? How much time and money will you budget to develop an interface and from programming?

Here is another approach to an activity tracker that might give you direct access to the data.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-acti...

Walt

RE: Use activity tracker as datalogging accelerometer

$58 from https://store.ti.com/eZ430-Chronos-915-Chronos-Wir... The Chronos is a development kit, and includes access point to PC and software and is pretty much programmable

user guide: http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slau292g/slau292g.pdf
product page: http://www.ti.com/tool/ez430-chronos

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources