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.

Pathological

https://mcmap.net/q/168628/-detect-shake-in-android you can check this answer – Carnarvon

Answer 1

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];
    }
  }

}

Torras

java.lang.SecurityException: Requires VIBRATE permission – Roundhead

SensorManager.DATA_[X,Y,Z] are now deprecated. – Allure

@RanyAlbegWein are you sure? I've checked the docs and the IDE and it didn't get a strikethrough or deprecation warnings. – Bestride

Deprecated... Mostly deprecated everything. – Roundhead

Answer 2

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);

    // A non-zero delay is required for Android 12 and up (https://github.com/square/seismic/issues/24)
    int sensorDelay = SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME

    sd.start(sensorManager, sensorDelay);

    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();
  }
}

Scutum

Underrated answer. – Ashling

This one is better. This library is developed by Square. – Triplicity

ported to Kotlin: gist.github.com/panchicore/7d3780a5bbe38de16a5f786e8ecff954 – Argumentum

One main advantage is Seismic actually checks for a shake, instead of just checking for an acceleration. This prevents false positives like when you pick up your phone. – Swett

Loved it, but what is it's shaking threshold ? – Ansate

Answer 3

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);

Proclaim

Why are using an unassigned object mLastShakeTime? – Gervais

@CodeTiger It is a long, not an object, which in Java has a default value of 0. – Proclaim

What does this equation do Math.sqrt(Math.pow(x, 2) + Math.pow(y, 2) + Math.pow(z, 2)) ? – Dulcine

It changes the acceleration from a vector to a magnitude. – Proclaim

Answer 4

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

Hamil

Last i checked low-pass filter is [alpha*current + (1-alpha)*previous], and the 0.9 (alpha?) is completely dependent on sensor's sample rate, e.g. for 100ms alpha should be 0.146 ish, and you cannot assume all devices use the exact same sensor rate. – Guarnerius

I'm pretty new to Android. Could you help me understand why onResume and onPause are called when the screen shakes? I don't get that part. – Pascoe

@Pascoe We need to register a listener in sensorManager, We did it in onResume and unregister the listener in onPause so when user left the app this listener will not work until the user come back to the app. – Hamil

Answer 5

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" />

Quizzical

Answer 6

You can use Seismic:

See the code here:

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

Puga

Answer 7

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
}

Mendelism

I am trying to detect if the user shook the phone three times and then play an audio... – Opener

Code like this (and many other similar examples) only detects sustained period of acceleration, not necessarily shaking. It will not detect the back-and-forth motion, which is actually acceleration followed by negative acceleration. – Guarnerius

Answer 8

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.

Falconet