Saudi, Hungarian defense ministers discuss military ties    Al-Rajhi: Cabinet's decision is supportive to most vulnerable groups    King Salman appoints Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad as Royal Court advisor    Alkhorayef emphasizes Saudi Arabia's growing role as global industrial investment hub    Saudi Arabia adopts World Drowning Prevention Day as national health priority    GACA imposes SR2.8 million in fines for 87 civil aviation violations in Q2 2025    Desperate Gaza doctors cram several babies into one incubator as fuel crisis reaches critical point    ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over women's rights violations    Syria issues appeal to EU for help battling massive wildfires along northwestern coast    Total e-messages sent to parties in lawsuits reach over 11.8 million during first half of 2025    3 arrested in assault case in Riyadh    New Property Ownership Law will take into effect in January 2026 Al-Hogail thanks King and Crown Prince for the updated law    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







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Enter the accelerometer
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 10 - 06 - 2008

WHEN Scott Forstall, a senior vice president at Apple, demonstrated a new space game for the iPhone, he let the spacecraft cruise through a field of stars for a bit. As the audience finished absorbing the look of the shooter set in a distant galaxy, he asked them, “I don't have a joystick on here, or any four-button toggle, so how do I steer?”
A few seconds later, he tilted the phone just a few degrees and the ship shifted course on the screen. “We have a full three-axis accelerometer in here, so all I've got to do is move the phone around and now I'm steering it,” he said. The crowd of programmers cheered.
The iPhone is not unique. Nintendo's popular Wii game console uses similar technology, and many cellphones, computers and other electronic gadgets are gaining a sensitivity to motion.
Manufacturers are increasingly embedding accelerometers and other sensors into the machines, which allow them to respond to movement without waiting for their humans to push a button. Game designers and other programmers are jumping to remake user interfaces so that users can direct gadgets with a nudge, a tilt or a shake.
The programmer Graham Oldfield turned his Nokia N95 cellphone into a virtual light saber by writing software that tracked the phone's movement using the built-in accelerometer. When the phone is still, it emits a low hum, but when the user waves it, the pitch and volume increase just like the weapons in the “Star Wars” movies. If the phone is abruptly stopped, it assumes it encountered something and provides a proper cracking sound. Version 1.5 of the software, available free from Oldfield's Web site (graho.wordpress.com), adds tactile feedback through the vibrating ringer, a feature Oldfield calls SaberTingle.
Versions of the popular video game Snake from the 1970s are now available for iPhone and Nokia phones with accelerometers. Tilting the phone guides a snake to dinner, a process that gets harder and harder as the snake grows.
Andreas Jakl and Stephan Selinger, professors at the University of Applied Sciences in Hagenberg, Austria, transformed a Nokia N95 cellphone into a steering wheel for a radio-controlled car (www.symbianresources.com/projects). Turn the phone to the left and the car turns left. – The New York Times __


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