Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite

Vieyra Software

Contains ads

About this app

This app uses internal smartphone sensors to collect, display, record, and export .csv data files. See www.vieyrasoftware.net to (1) read about case usage in research and development, and (2) get lesson plans for educators of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, including physics. Sensor availability, precision, and accuracy are dependent upon smartphone hardware.

Sensors, generators, and data analysis tools include the following:

KINEMATICS
G-Force Meter - ratio of Fn/Fg (x, y, z and/or total)
Linear Accelerometer – acceleration (x, y, and/or z)
Gyroscope - radial velocity (x, y, and/or z)
Inclinometer - azimuth, roll, pitch
Protractor - angle from vertical or horizontal

ACOUSTICS
Sound Meter - sound intensity
Tone Detector - frequency and musical tone
Tone Generator – sound frequency producer
Oscilloscope - wave shape and relative amplitude
Spectrum Analyzer - graphical FFT
Spectrogram - waterfall FFT

LIGHT
Light Meter - light intensity
Color Detector - detects HEX colors within a small rectangle area on the screen via the camera.
Color Generator – R/G/B/Y/C/M, white, and custom color screen
Proximeter - periodic motion and timer (timer and pendulum modes)
Stroboscope (beta) - camera flash
Wi-Fi - Wi-Fi signal strength

MAGNETISM
Compass - magnetic field direction and bubble level
Magnetometer - magnetic field intensity (x, y, z and/or total)
Magna-AR - augmented reality visualization of magnetic field vectors

OTHER
Barometer - atmospheric pressure
Ruler - distance between two points
GPS - latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, direction, number of satellites
System Temperature - battery temperature

COMBINATION
Multi Record - choose one or more of the above sensors to collect data at the same time.
Dual Sensor - display data from two sensors on a graph in real time.
Roller Coaster - G-Force Meter, Linear Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Barometer

PLOTTING
Manual Data Plot - enter data manually to generate a graph.

GAME
Play - challenges

FEATURES
(a) Record: Record by pressing the red floating action button. Find saved data stored in the folder icon.
(b) Export: Export data by selecting an option to send via e-mail or shared in Google Drive or Dropbox. Locally saved files can also be transferred from the folder icon.
(c) Sensor Information: Clicking on the (i) icon to identify sensor name, vendor, and current data collection rate, and to learn what kind of data is collected by the sensor, its physical operating principle, and links to additional resources.

SETTINGS
* Note that not all settings are available for all sensors.
(a) Data Display: View data in graphical, digital, or vector form.
(b) Graph Display: View multi-dimensional data sets on a single shared graph or in multiple individual graphs.
(c) Displayed Axis: For multi-dimensional data on a single shared graph, select total, x, y, and/or z-axis data.
(d) CSV Timestamp Format: Record clock time or elapsed time with sensor data.
(e) Line Width: Modify visual presentation of data with a Thin, Medium, or Thick line.
(f) Sensor Collection Rate: Set collection rate as Fastest, Game, UI, or Normal. The sensor collection rate is displayed for each option when selected.
(g) Keep the Screen On: Prevent the app from turning the screen off automatically.
(h) Calibrate: Calibrate selected sensors.

Ratings and reviews

It's pretty good in niche situations. Data accuracy is entirely dependent on your device, it's pretty easy to use, and it lets you record up to 9 sensor outputs at a time with csv output. My only complaints are it doesn't let you record every sensor like the tone detector, GPS, spectrogram, and a few others in multi record. This app also only shows data on your current wifi network in the scanner where other wifi scanner apps show information about all nearby networks.

I downloaded this app just to play around with it, but I have actually found it genuinely useful in the lab for certain simple tasks. It's only as good as your phone's sensors, but when perfection isn't necessary this app works well to record data, which can then be exported (e.g. to excel). This is especially useful for field work. I have gotten some great results recording pressure and accelerometer data for later analysis.

A fun app with many cool features. I especially like the audio visualizers, color detector, and the easy-to-read GPS function. Very neat app, worth checking out, has a bit of everything! My only other comments on it are that some features are not compatible with my device (normal/basic LG smartphone), which is a bummer - and getting some things to work took a bit of troubleshooting. If you're having trouble getting some of the things to work, make sure you've granted the app permissions! :-)

What's new

Added support for Android 13