Gary Rubin Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 I just discovered that my IBM Thinkpad has a 2-axis tilt sensor and probably a 3-axis accelerometer in it. It's part of something called "ThinkVantage", and is used primarily to disable the hard drive when motion gets too extreme. Has anyone tried to access this information? Sounds like it would be fun to play with. EDIT: Just found this: http://www.stanford.edu/~bsuter/thinkpad-accelerometer/. Too bad I've got real work to do... Gary Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 04:35 AM) EDIT: Just found this: http://www.stanford.edu/%7Ebsuter/thinkpad-accelerometer/' target="_blank">http://www.stanford.edu/~bsuter/thinkpad-accelerometer/. Too bad I've got real work to do... Ooooo that's so cool! I've got real work to do, but I might be able to squeeze this one in jusy for its coolness factor EDIT: Yep, that little exe on the site works like a charm! Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(crelf @ Jul 19 2007, 02:48 PM) Ooooo that's so cool! I've got real work to do, but I might be able to squeeze this one in jusy for its coolness factor I've come to expect grand things from you, Chris. When will we see a Code Repository entry for wiring Labview diagrams by changing the orientation of your lap? Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 04:54 AM) When will we see a Code Repository entry for wiring Labview diagrams by changing the orientation of your lap? I'm thinking of something like turning your laptop into an etch-a-sketch... Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(crelf @ Jul 19 2007, 03:04 PM) I'm thinking of something like turning your laptop into an etch-a-sketch... I'm not at all familiar with the Mindstorms capabilities... Could you use the laptop as a remote control? Tilt it right, and the robot turns right, tilt it forward and it accelerates, etc.? Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Well, after about 2 minutes of trying, all I've gotten is the roll axis. Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 05:07 AM) I'm not at all familiar with the Mindstorms capabilities... Could you use the laptop as a remote control? How much spare time do you think I have?!?! Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 19 2007, 05:06 PM) Well, after about 2 minutes of trying, all I've gotten is the roll axis. oops, wrong datatype. Now I get x and y Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 07:40 AM) oops, wrong datatype. Now I get x and y When I loaded the first version of your VI, it was upset with the "sensor.dll", saying it was corrupt. I ignored that and it ran anyway. Now when I try it (or your second version) it hangs on load: http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=6407''>http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=6407'>http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=6407 Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 QUOTE(crelf @ Jul 19 2007, 06:21 PM) When I loaded the first version of your VI, it was upset with the "sensor.dll", saying it was corrupt. I ignored that and it ran anyway. Now when I try it (or your second version) it hangs on load:http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=6407''>http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=6407'>http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=6407 Hmmm. I'm running as a local admin. I wonder if that matters. Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 08:29 AM) Hmmm. I'm running as a local admin. I wonder if that matters. Me too - once I pointed it explicitly to the file in the Windows\System32 directory, all is well. Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 QUOTE(crelf @ Jul 19 2007, 07:08 PM) Me too - once I pointed it explicitly to the file in the Windows\System32 directory, all is well. It appears that there's a z-axis too. Just add a third value to the clusters. Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 ...and here's what you've all been waiting for Thanks to Gary for doing the hard work... Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 QUOTE(crelf @ Jul 19 2007, 09:07 PM) ...and here's what you've all been waiting for Thanks to Gary for doing the hard work... Would you mind downconverting it to 7.1? I plan on posting the "Labview - Thinkpad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theramin' target="_blank">Theramin" once I have a chance to work on it. Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 11:16 AM) Would you mind downconverting it to 7.1? I'd like to, but I don't have the appropriate versions installed - anyone else care ro help out? QUOTE(Gary Rubin @ Jul 20 2007, 11:16 AM) Introducing the "Labview - Thinkpad Theramin"! Again, it takes ages to load unless you overtly link the dll to the location, so please don't just put "sensor.dll" in the "Library name or path", put the whole path in there too. Also, it doesn't seem to work with LabVIEW 8.20 - I get sound, but it doesn't change with the tilt in any direction... Quote Link to comment
Gary Rubin Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 QUOTE(crelf @ Jul 20 2007, 07:51 AM) I'd like to, but I don't have the appropriate versions installed - anyone else care ro help out?Again, it takes ages to load unless you overtly link the dll to the location, so please don't just put "sensor.dll" in the "Library name or path", put the whole path in there too. Also, it doesn't seem to work with LabVIEW 8.20 - I get sound, but it doesn't change with the tilt in any direction... When I open it on mine, the full path is there. Quote Link to comment
orko Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hey, they did this with the phones, why not do it on a laptop? Quote Link to comment
crelf Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 QUOTE(orko @ Jul 24 2007, 04:11 AM) Hey, they did this with the phones, why not do it on a laptop? It's a pity that there isn't a standard API for these sensors for all laptops (is there?) - otherwise, that would make a kick-arse coding challenge... Quote Link to comment
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