Can accelerometer measure direction?

Replies

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  BigOhm

  An accelerometer measures acceleration, which is a vector. Thus, you can easily (?) keep track of direction once you have a reference. You cannot, however, simply use an accelerometer to determine north or +x. Can you be a bit more specific?
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  juma1987

  this is a accelerometer that you can use anywhere, as you can see it measure the magnitude and the direction of the aceleration
  
  #-Link-Snipped-# #-Link-Snipped-#
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  anu_mech

  sir
  actually i wanted to know about its ability to respond when acceleration decreases instantly ie retardation starts. cant it show + sign and - sign on its LED display.
  
  regards
  anumeha
• 

  juma1987

  well an acceleroemeter is a second degree sensor, you can use easy expresions to evaluate the retardation, is that your question or i misunderstood?
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  anu_mech

  i need indication from the machine itself...actually the purpose is this "i need indication from accelerometer which i may use in an amplifier circuit to run a mechanism. actuallly it acceleration or deceleration on which type of motion depends"
• 

  BigOhm

  anu_mech

  sir
  actually i wanted to know about its ability to respond when acceleration decreases instantly ie retardation starts. cant it show + sign and - sign on its LED display.
  
  regards
  anumeha

  Well, you can't get acceleration to decrease instantly. If you try, it jerks the wings off aircraft or the wheels off cars, etc.
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  anu_mech

  nopes.... i have not got anything to do with acceleration...its just an indicator. neither i need the direction. i just want the info on a digital display that if the speed is increasing or decreasing.
  plzz help
• 

  BigOhm

  anu_mech

  nopes.... i have not got anything to do with acceleration...its just an indicator. neither i need the direction. i just want the info on a digital display that if the speed is increasing or decreasing.
  plzz help

  Forgive me for being blunt, but you say you are not interested in acceleration, just whether speed is increasing or decreasing. I fear you don't understand acceleration at all. Acceleration is a change in velocity. Acceleration always includes changes in speed and direction. Can you clearly state exactly what you're looking for?
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  anu_mech

  sorry for being rude! but its a serious matter for me and you are not supposed to crack such stupid jokes over here!I obviously meant dat i dont need to know about the magnitude of acceleration. my concern is whether the speed is increasing or decreasing.
• 

  juma1987

  Im sorry im not a native english speaker.
  If you only want to know if the speed is increasing or decreasing, you can see from the picture i posted before, if the acceleration is positive then the speed is increasing, if the acceleration is negative then the speed is decreasing, and you have two axes of information, up/down + left/right, is that what u need or i misunderstood you?
• 

  BigOhm

  anu_mech

  sorry for being rude! but its a serious matter for me and you are not supposed to crack such stupid jokes over here!I obviously meant dat i dont need to know about the magnitude of acceleration. my concern is whether the speed is increasing or decreasing.

  I made no joke, stupid or otherwise. If your concern is only a "+" or a "-", that is possible. However, you will without a doubt have a dead band where you cannot tell; the size of that dead band is an acceleration magnitude. I have used accelerometers for decades.
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  anu_mech

  i am extremly sorry for such a behaviour, actually the purpose behind using an accelerometer was just as an indicator. but since the cost of device is demanding we are going for the alternative(speedometer with sensors)...