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Accelerometer
Last Updated: September 7, 2011
Definition - What does Accelerometer mean?
An accelerometer is a device that detects its own acceleration and is used in mobile phones to determine the phone's orientation. Once the orientation is determined, the phone's software can react accordingly, such as by changing its display from portrait to landscape.
Techopedia explains Accelerometer
An accelerometer is able to detect acceleration through a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), which changes electrical properties such as voltage. These changes are translated into signals, which are sent to the appropriate software for processing.
There are different types of accelerometers used in phoneses:
- Piezoelectric Accelerometer: This device relies on the natural structures of piezoelectric crystals, which react to forces exerted on the phone by generating an electrical charge, which subsequently creates a voltage.
- Micro-electromechanical System (MEMS): These are tiny mechanical structures that change when forces are applied to them, subsequently changing an electrical property.
- Capacitive Accelerometer: This device is a kind of MEMS. A net force applied to the mechanical system results in a change in the system’s capacitance.
A typical mobile device has an accelerometer that can detect acceleration on two or three axes, allowing it to sense motion and orientation. A three-dimensional accelerometer can calculate pitch and roll and can be used in flight or driving simulation applications.
Accelerometers consume a lot of energy, so they should be turned off when they are not being used to avoid draining a device's battery.
