Question
Consider the following actions:
1. Detection of car crash/collision which results in the deployment of airbags almost instantaneously
2. Detection of accidental free fall of a laptop towards the ground which results in the immediate turning off of the hard drive
3. Detection of the tilt of the smart-phone which results in the rotation of display between portrait and landscape mode
In how many of the above actions is the function of accelerometer required?
Explanation
All three depend on accelerometers, which sense changes in motion and orientation. In cars, they detect sudden deceleration to trigger airbag deployment; in laptops, they sense free-fall and instantly park the hard drive’s read/write heads to prevent damage; and in smartphones, they detect tilt to switch the screen between portrait and landscape modes.