5 ms·

Biggest news for me: barometer! Biggest question: Can we access it to read raw atmospheric pressure? There seems to be no documented API.

• dominotw 12y ago
  How is that going to be useful?
  • tonyhb 12y ago
    It makes GPS locking much quicker by optimising some calculations.
  • Fuzzwah 12y ago
    I'm in a very small niche of users, but I'm a skydiver and have an app on my GS3 which tracks freefall speed: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.platypii.baseline&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.platypii.b... Having a barometer was a key feature I looked for in a phone.
    • base698 12y ago
      Also a skydiver, and looks like you jump at Elsinore judging from the pictures in your app. My wife and I are there occasionally. I hope the sampling of data is fast enough to use in skydiving. Maybe an integrated log book/flysight.
      • Fuzzwah 12y ago
        My poor wording has tricked you. I didn't create the app, I've just bought a copy of it. My home DZ is Arizona, but I occasionally get over to Perris. I'm a boring belly flier :)
  • Someone1234 12y ago
    It can be used as a basic altimeter. Which can help pinpoint your location better, they're meant to be accurate to within 10 feet vertically from a base point.
  • ceejayoz 12y ago
    Weather predictions based not on widely spaced weather stations, but millions of individual GPS-capable mobile ones?
  • cryptoz 12y ago
    I'm building a dense network of atmosphere sensors using smartphones in order to build a more accurate weather model [1]. Android's APIs allow us to access the raw data, but all of Apple's marketing talks just about "elevation". I'm hoping they give us access to the raw sensor, and not just elevation change. Humanity ought to have a much better weather forecast than we have now, as we're nearing 1B+ internet-connected barometers. Hopefully Apple's sensors can add to this network! [1]: http://pressurenet.io http://pressurenet.io
    • cheald 12y ago
      How is what you're building different from PressureNet (https://pressurenet.io/ https://pressurenet.io/)?
      • cryptoz 12y ago
        I'm building PressureNet :) (edited my post above to add that)
        • Xcelerate 12y ago
          Haha, this is why I love Hacker News.
          • jiggy2011 12y ago
            Even better https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35079 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35079
        • sandstrom 12y ago
          Nice one! :) Reminded me of this dialogue from The Social Network: Sean Parker: Well, I founded an internet company that let folks download and share music for free. Amy: Kind of like Napster? Sean Parker: Exactly like Napster. Amy: What do you mean? Sean Parker: I founded Napster. Amy: Sean Parker founded Napster. Sean Parker: Nice to meet you.
        • 12y ago
  • birdmanjeremy 12y ago
    I'd be interested in this for tuning carburetor jets. I'm sure there are lots of air-density related uses.
  • jonifico 12y ago
    Same question here.
  • oscilloscope 12y ago
    It's an interesting environmental variable to track, especially if you get migraines or have mood swings. If it turns out increased pressure is correlated to your headaches, you can take extra precautions to avoid other triggers.
  • scottcha 12y ago
    I build an avalanche safety app http://www.ullrlabs.com http://www.ullrlabs.com and knowing your elevation is one key aspect of determining the avalanche risk (due to differences in altitude for wind effect, temp, and snow accumulation).
    • XorNot 12y ago
      Wouldn't GPS be far more accurate for this purpose?
      • LeoPanthera 12y ago
        GPS altitude is not accurate. http://gpsinformation.net/main/altitude.htm http://gpsinformation.net/main/altitude.htm
        • deleted 12y ago
          [deleted]
      • jaredmcateer 12y ago
        No but the barometer assists with getting a faster GPS lock by giving it an approximate altitude
  • debt 12y ago
    Determine the location within tall buildings more accurately but obviously not 100% accurate. This is one step closer to pinpointing the exact location of the phone within tall buildings.
  • ZanderEarth32 12y ago
    Dedicated backcountry and backpacking apps can now use the barometer to determine elevation rather than having to use GPS approximation.
  • eevilspock 12y ago
    Many people's migraines are correlated to changes in barometric pressure. What's really cool is with thousand (or millions!) of people tracking when they have a migraine while using a barametric pressure tracking device, we'll finally get solid data to see how strong this correlation is and whether it involves other factors. Medical science can't, for obvious reasons, do a lot of controlled experiments with people. The next best thing is using "big data" collection over millions of people over many dimensions. Knowledge will benefit immeasurable.
  • pkulak 12y ago
    Quicker GPS locks.