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[Developer] Barometer For Engineers [FREE]

psionandy said:
How is the sensor calibrated?
Click to expand...

psionandy,

The pressure sensor used in this app is internally in your phone. When the sensor is made it is most likely tested to makes sure it is within the calibration limits of the pressure reading. How accurate your sensor is depends on what phone you have since different phone types may have different brand sensors in them.

For example think about a common thermometer. Each thermometer is calibrated to read the same temperature but in reality each one has error. Also think of a clock. You can set two clocks to the exact same time but eventually one clock will differ from another clock in time.

So yes your sensor is calibrated (or at least I would hope so). Unless you have a calibrated testing equipment to compare it to, then you would not be able to determine if yours is calibrated within its specification. If you use this app on two different devices and get different readings, it is not because the app is calculating different readings, it is because the hardware of each sensor in your separate phones has a different amount of error from its nominal value.

zrabatah
 
Sorry.. thinking with my Engineer's hat on... Engineers would calibrate their thermometer's and ensure their clocks are reset...

anyway, thanks for your answer... and good luck with your app.
 
psionandy said:
Sorry.. thinking with my Engineer's hat on... Engineers would calibrate their thermometer's and ensure their clocks are reset...

anyway, thanks for your answer... and good luck with your app.
Click to expand...

psionandy,

Yes normally when using a thermometer or a clock you would calibrate it, or check to see if it is within tolerance of the calibration. However, Android does not provide this functionality for their app because there is not another reference sensor in the device that can be programmatically called to check. Therefore, you just have to hope that the sensor itself is accurate.

However, pressure sensors have been around for a long time and are Very durable. Pressure sensors are made in a lot of different devices including cars. Imagine if a few bumps in the road caused your pressure sensor in your car to go out of calibration... If you drop your phone the last thing you will have to worry about is your pressure sensor going out of calibration (more than likely you will just break your case or phone screen). Since these sensors are used in cars and other high vibration environments, they are generally made in a similar fashion for other devices including phones to ensure their reliability and cost reduction.

zrabatah
 
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