README.txt
1 This directory contains a simple python script for visualizing
2 the behavior of the WindowOrientationListener.
3
4
5 PREREQUISITES
6 -------------
7
8 1. Python 2.6
9 2. numpy
10 3. matplotlib
11
12 eg. sudo apt-get install python-numpy python-matplotlib
13
14
15 USAGE
16 -----
17
18 The tool works by scaping the debug log output from WindowOrientationListener
19 for interesting data and then plotting it.
20
21 1. Plug in the device. Ensure that it is the only device plugged in
22 since this script is of very little brain and will get confused otherwise.
23
24 2. Enable the Window Orientation Listener debugging data log.
25 adb shell setprop debug.orientation.log true
26 adb shell stop
27 adb shell start
28
29 3. Run "orientationplot.py".
30
31
32 WHAT IT ALL MEANS
33 -----------------
34
35 The tool displays several time series graphs that plot the output of the
36 WindowOrientationListener. Here you can see the raw accelerometer data,
37 filtered accelerometer data, measured tilt and orientation angle, confidence
38 intervals for the proposed orientation and accelerometer latency.
39
40 Things to look for:
41
42 1. Ensure the filtering is not too aggressive. If the filter cut-off frequency is
43 less than about 1Hz, then the filtered accelorometer data becomes too smooth
44 and the latency for orientation detection goes up. One way to observe this
45 is by holding the device vertically in one orientation then sharply turning
46 it 90 degrees to a different orientation. Compared the rapid changes in the
47 raw accelerometer data with the smoothed out filtered data. If the filtering
48 is too aggressive, the filter response may lag by hundreds of milliseconds.
49
50 2. Ensure that there is an appropriate gap between adjacent orientation angles
51 for hysteresis. Try holding the device in one orientation and slowly turning
52 it 90 degrees. Note that the confidence intervals will all drop to 0 at some
53 point in between the two orientations; that is the gap. The gap should be
54 observed between all adjacent pairs of orientations when turning the device
55 in either direction.
56
57 Next try holding the device in one orientation and rapidly turning it end
58 over end to a midpoint about 45 degrees between two opposing orientations.
59 There should be no gap observed initially. The algorithm should pick one
60 of the orientations and settle into it (since it is obviously quite
61 different from the original orientation of the device). However, once it
62 settles, the confidence values should start trending to 0 again because
63 the measured orientation angle is now within the gap between the new
64 orientation and the adjacent orientation.
65
66 In other words, the hysteresis gap applies only when the measured orientation
67 angle (say, 45 degrees) is between the current orientation's ideal angle
68 (say, 0 degrees) and an adjacent orientation's ideal angle (say, 90 degrees).
69
70 3. Accelerometer jitter. The accelerometer latency graph displays the interval
71 between sensor events as reported by the SensorEvent.timestamp field. It
72 should be a fairly constant 60ms. If the latency jumps around wildly or
73 greatly exceeds 60ms then there is a problem with the accelerometer or the
74 sensor manager.
75
76 4. The orientation angle is not measured when the tilt is too close to 90 or -90
77 degrees (refer to MAX_TILT constant). Consequently, you should expect there
78 to be no data. Likewise, all dependent calculations are suppressed in this case
79 so there will be no orientation proposal either.
80
81 5. Each orientation has its own bound on allowable tilt angles. It's a good idea to
82 verify that these limits are being enforced by gradually varying the tilt of
83 the device until it is inside/outside the limit for each orientation.
84
85 6. Orientation changes should be significantly harder when the device is held
86 overhead. People reading on tablets in bed often have their head turned
87 a little to the side, or they hold the device loosely so its orientation
88 can be a bit unusual. The tilt is a good indicator of whether the device is
89 overhead.
90