How to detect shake event with android?

Question

How can I detect a shake event with android? How can I detect the shake direction?

I want to change the image in an imageview when shaking occurs.

Answer 1

From the code point of view, you need to implement the SensorListener:

public class ShakeActivity extends Activity implements SensorListener

You will need to acquire a SensorManager:

sensorMgr = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);

And register this sensor with desired flags:

sensorMgr.registerListener(this,
SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER,
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);

In your onSensorChange() method, you determine whether it’s a shake or not:

public void onSensorChanged(int sensor, float[] values) {
  if (sensor == SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER) {
    long curTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
    // only allow one update every 100ms.
    if ((curTime - lastUpdate) > 100) {
      long diffTime = (curTime - lastUpdate);
      lastUpdate = curTime;

      x = values[SensorManager.DATA_X];
      y = values[SensorManager.DATA_Y];
      z = values[SensorManager.DATA_Z];

      float speed = Math.abs(x+y+z - last_x - last_y - last_z) / diffTime * 10000;

      if (speed > SHAKE_THRESHOLD) {
        Log.d("sensor", "shake detected w/ speed: " + speed);
        Toast.makeText(this, "shake detected w/ speed: " + speed, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
      }
      last_x = x;
      last_y = y;
      last_z = z;
    }
  }
}

The shake threshold is defined as:

private static final int SHAKE_THRESHOLD = 800;

There are some other methods too, to detect shake motion. look at this link.(If that link does not work or link is dead, look at this web archive.).

Have a look at this example for android shake detect listener.

Note: SensorListener is deprecated. we can use SensorEventListener instead. Here is a quick example using SensorEventListener.

Thanks.

Answer 2

Google helps a lot.

/* The following code was written by Matthew Wiggins
 * and is released under the APACHE 2.0 license
 *
 * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 */
package com.hlidskialf.android.hardware;

import android.hardware.SensorListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.content.Context;
import java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException;

public class ShakeListener implements SensorListener 
{
  private static final int FORCE_THRESHOLD = 350;
  private static final int TIME_THRESHOLD = 100;
  private static final int SHAKE_TIMEOUT = 500;
  private static final int SHAKE_DURATION = 1000;
  private static final int SHAKE_COUNT = 3;

  private SensorManager mSensorMgr;
  private float mLastX=-1.0f, mLastY=-1.0f, mLastZ=-1.0f;
  private long mLastTime;
  private OnShakeListener mShakeListener;
  private Context mContext;
  private int mShakeCount = 0;
  private long mLastShake;
  private long mLastForce;

  public interface OnShakeListener
  {
    public void onShake();
  }

  public ShakeListener(Context context) 
  { 
    mContext = context;
    resume();
  }

  public void setOnShakeListener(OnShakeListener listener)
  {
    mShakeListener = listener;
  }

  public void resume() {
    mSensorMgr = (SensorManager)mContext.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
    if (mSensorMgr == null) {
      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Sensors not supported");
    }
    boolean supported = mSensorMgr.registerListener(this, SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);
    if (!supported) {
      mSensorMgr.unregisterListener(this, SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER);
      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Accelerometer not supported");
    }
  }

  public void pause() {
    if (mSensorMgr != null) {
      mSensorMgr.unregisterListener(this, SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER);
      mSensorMgr = null;
    }
  }

  public void onAccuracyChanged(int sensor, int accuracy) { }

  public void onSensorChanged(int sensor, float[] values) 
  {
    if (sensor != SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER) return;
    long now = System.currentTimeMillis();

    if ((now - mLastForce) > SHAKE_TIMEOUT) {
      mShakeCount = 0;
    }

    if ((now - mLastTime) > TIME_THRESHOLD) {
      long diff = now - mLastTime;
      float speed = Math.abs(values[SensorManager.DATA_X] + values[SensorManager.DATA_Y] + values[SensorManager.DATA_Z] - mLastX - mLastY - mLastZ) / diff * 10000;
      if (speed > FORCE_THRESHOLD) {
        if ((++mShakeCount >= SHAKE_COUNT) && (now - mLastShake > SHAKE_DURATION)) {
          mLastShake = now;
          mShakeCount = 0;
          if (mShakeListener != null) { 
            mShakeListener.onShake(); 
          }
        }
        mLastForce = now;
      }
      mLastTime = now;
      mLastX = values[SensorManager.DATA_X];
      mLastY = values[SensorManager.DATA_Y];
      mLastZ = values[SensorManager.DATA_Z];
    }
  }

}

Answer 3

You can also take a look on library Seismic

public class Demo extends Activity implements ShakeDetector.Listener {
  @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

    SensorManager sensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
    ShakeDetector sd = new ShakeDetector(this);
    sd.start(sensorManager);

    TextView tv = new TextView(this);
    tv.setGravity(CENTER);
    tv.setText("Shake me, bro!");
    setContentView(tv, new LayoutParams(MATCH_PARENT, MATCH_PARENT));
  }

  @Override public void hearShake() {
    Toast.makeText(this, "Don't shake me, bro!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
  }
}

Answer 4

There are a lot of solutions to this question already, but I wanted to post one that:

• Doesn't use a library depricated in API 3
• Calculates the magnitude of the acceleration correctly
• Correctly applies a timeout between shake events

Here is such a solution:

// variables for shake detection
private static final float SHAKE_THRESHOLD = 3.25f; // m/S**2
private static final int MIN_TIME_BETWEEN_SHAKES_MILLISECS = 1000;
private long mLastShakeTime;
private SensorManager mSensorMgr;

To initialize the timer:

// Get a sensor manager to listen for shakes
mSensorMgr = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);

// Listen for shakes
Sensor accelerometer = mSensorMgr.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
if (accelerometer != null) {
    mSensorMgr.registerListener(this, accelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}

SensorEventListener methods to override:

@Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
    if (event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER) {
        long curTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
        if ((curTime - mLastShakeTime) > MIN_TIME_BETWEEN_SHAKES_MILLISECS) {

            float x = event.values[0];
            float y = event.values[1];
            float z = event.values[2];

            double acceleration = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(x, 2) +
                    Math.pow(y, 2) +
                    Math.pow(z, 2)) - SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
            Log.d(APP_NAME, "Acceleration is " + acceleration + "m/s^2");

            if (acceleration > SHAKE_THRESHOLD) {
                mLastShakeTime = curTime;
                Log.d(APP_NAME, "Shake, Rattle, and Roll");
            }
        }
    }
}

@Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
    // Ignore
}

When you are all done

// Stop listening for shakes
mSensorMgr.unregisterListener(this);

Answer 5

Since SensorListener is deprecated so use the following code:

/* put this into your activity class */
private SensorManager mSensorManager;
private float mAccel; // acceleration apart from gravity
private float mAccelCurrent; // current acceleration including gravity
private float mAccelLast; // last acceleration including gravity

private final SensorEventListener mSensorListener = new SensorEventListener() {

  public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent se) {
    float x = se.values[0];
    float y = se.values[1];
    float z = se.values[2];
    mAccelLast = mAccelCurrent;
    mAccelCurrent = (float) Math.sqrt((double) (x*x + y*y + z*z));
    float delta = mAccelCurrent - mAccelLast;
    mAccel = mAccel * 0.9f + delta; // perform low-cut filter
  }

  public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
  }
};

@Override
protected void onResume() {
  super.onResume();
  mSensorManager.registerListener(mSensorListener, mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER), SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}

@Override
protected void onPause() {
  mSensorManager.unregisterListener(mSensorListener);
  super.onPause();
}

Then:

/* do this in onCreate */
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
mSensorManager.registerListener(mSensorListener, mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER), SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
mAccel = 0.00f;
mAccelCurrent = SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
mAccelLast = SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;

The question with full details could be found here:

Android: I want to shake it

Answer 6

This is for Kotlin and use SensorEventListener

Create new class ShakeDetector

class ShakeDetector : SensorEventListener {
    private var mListener: OnShakeListener? = null
    private var mShakeTimestamp: Long = 0
    private var mShakeCount = 0
    fun setOnShakeListener(listener: OnShakeListener?) {
        mListener = listener
    }

    interface OnShakeListener {
        fun onShake(count: Int)
    }

    override fun onAccuracyChanged(
        sensor: Sensor,
        accuracy: Int
    ) { // ignore
    }

    override fun onSensorChanged(event: SensorEvent) {
        if (mListener != null) {
            val x = event.values[0]
            val y = event.values[1]
            val z = event.values[2]
            val gX = x / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH
            val gY = y / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH
            val gZ = z / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH
            // gForce will be close to 1 when there is no movement.
            val gForce: Float = sqrt(gX * gX + gY * gY + gZ * gZ)
            if (gForce > SHAKE_THRESHOLD_GRAVITY) {
                val now = System.currentTimeMillis()
                // ignore shake events too close to each other (500ms)
                if (mShakeTimestamp + SHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS > now) {
                    return
                }
                // reset the shake count after 3 seconds of no shakes
                if (mShakeTimestamp + SHAKE_COUNT_RESET_TIME_MS < now) {
                    mShakeCount = 0
                }
                mShakeTimestamp = now
                mShakeCount++
                mListener!!.onShake(mShakeCount)
            }
        }
    }

    companion object {
        /*
     * The gForce that is necessary to register as shake.
     * Must be greater than 1G (one earth gravity unit).
     * You can install "G-Force", by Blake La Pierre
     * from the Google Play Store and run it to see how
     *  many G's it takes to register a shake
     */
        private const val SHAKE_THRESHOLD_GRAVITY = 2.7f
        private const val SHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS = 500
        private const val SHAKE_COUNT_RESET_TIME_MS = 3000
    }
}

Your main Activity

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    // The following are used for the shake detection
    private var mSensorManager: SensorManager? = null
    private var mAccelerometer: Sensor? = null
    private var mShakeDetector: ShakeDetector? = null

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)
        initSensor()
    }
    override fun onResume() {
        super.onResume()
        // Add the following line to register the Session Manager Listener onResume
        mSensorManager!!.registerListener(
            mShakeDetector,
            mAccelerometer,
            SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI
        )
    }

    override fun onPause() { // Add the following line to unregister the Sensor Manager onPause
        mSensorManager!!.unregisterListener(mShakeDetector)
        super.onPause()
    }

    private fun initSensor() {
        // ShakeDetector initialization
        // ShakeDetector initialization
        mSensorManager = getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE) as SensorManager
        mAccelerometer = mSensorManager!!.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER)
        mShakeDetector = ShakeDetector()
        mShakeDetector!!.setOnShakeListener(object : OnShakeListener {
            override fun onShake(count: Int) { /*
                 * The following method, "handleShakeEvent(count):" is a stub //
                 * method you would use to setup whatever you want done once the
                 * device has been shook.
                 */
                Toast.makeText(this@MainActivity, count.toString(), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
            }
        })
    }
}

Finally add this code to Manifests to make sure the phone has an accelerometer

<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer" android:required="true" />

Answer 7

You can use Seismic:

See the code here:

https://github.com/square/seismic/blob/master/library/src/main/java/com/squareup/seismic/ShakeDetector.java

Answer 8

Do the following:

private float xAccel, yAccel, zAccel;
private float xPreviousAccel, yPreviousAccel, zPreviousAccel;
private boolean firstUpdate = true;
private final float shakeThreshold = 1.5f;
private boolean shakeInitiated = false;
SensorEventListener mySensorEventListener;
SensorManager mySensorManager;

Put this in onCreate method.

mySensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
    mySensorManager.registerListener(mySensorEventListener,
            mySensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
            SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);

And now the main part.

private boolean isAccelerationChanged() {
    float deltaX = Math.abs(xPreviousAccel - xAccel);
    float deltaY = Math.abs(yPreviousAccel - yAccel);
    float deltaZ = Math.abs(zPreviousAccel - zAccel);
    return (deltaX > shakeThreshold && deltaY > shakeThreshold)
            || (deltaX > shakeThreshold && deltaZ > shakeThreshold)
            || (deltaY > shakeThreshold && deltaZ > shakeThreshold);
}

private void updateAccelParameters(float xNewAccel, float yNewAccel, float zNewAccel) {
    if (firstUpdate) {
        xPreviousAccel = xNewAccel;
        yPreviousAccel = yNewAccel;
        zPreviousAccel = zNewAccel;
        firstUpdate = false;
    }else{
        xPreviousAccel = xAccel;
        yPreviousAccel = yAccel;
        zPreviousAccel = zAccel;
    }
    xAccel = xNewAccel;
    yAccel = yNewAccel;
    zAccel = zNewAccel;
}

private void executeShakeAction() {
    //this method is called when devices shakes
}

public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent se) {
    updateAccelParameters(se.values[0], se.values[1], se.values[2]);
    if ((!shakeInitiated) && isAccelerationChanged()) {
        shakeInitiated = true;
    }else if ((shakeInitiated) && isAccelerationChanged()){
        executeShakeAction();
    }else if((shakeInitiated) && (!isAccelerationChanged())){
        shakeInitiated = false;
    }
}

public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
    //setting the accuracy
}

Answer 9

Dont forget to add this code in your MainActivity.java:

MainActivity.java

mShaker = new ShakeListener(this);
mShaker.setOnShakeListener(new ShakeListener.OnShakeListener () {
    public void onShake() {
        Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Shake " , Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();        
    }
});

@Override
protected void onResume() {
    super.onResume();
    mShaker.resume();
}

@Override
protected void onPause() {
    super.onPause();
    mShaker.pause();
}

Or I give you a link about this stuff.