Develop Reference

Android compass issue

SO im trying to make a App that tracks which direction the phone is pointed VIA the compass and once a button is hit on the screen it displays the number of where it is pointed in degrees. So far i understand how the compass is created but can not find which values are the pointed direction in relation to North. Here is what i have so far.
public class compass extends Activity implements OnClickListener, SensorEventListener{
private final SensorManager DirPoint;
float var;
TextView theNumber;
Button DirectionIn;
public compass(){
DirPoint = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {}
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {}
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
theNumber = (textView) findViewById(R.id.output);
DirectionIn =(Button) findViewById(R.Id.Buton);
DirectionIn.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener(){
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
//gets direction of phone compass
// ((TextView)findViewById(R.id.output)).setText(var);
}
}
}
}
Any help would be welcomed or if im headed in the right direction even would be nice.

You have to implement a "compass". You can do this like this:
Let your activity implement the SensorEventListener and add the necessary fields:
public class CompassActivity extends Activity implements SensorEventListener {
private SensorManager sensorManager;
private Sensor accelerometer;
private Sensor magnetometer;
private float[] lastAccelerometer = new float[3];
private float[] lastMagnetometer = new float[3];
private boolean lastAccelerometerSet = false;
private boolean lastMagnetometerSet = false;
private float[] rotationMatrix = new float[9];
private float[] orientation = new float[3];
private float currentDegree = 0f;
In the onCreate method of the activity get and start the two sensors, the accelerometer and the magnetometer:
// onCreate method stub ...
sensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
accelerometer = sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
magnetometer = sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD);
sensorManager.registerListener(this, accelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
sensorManager.registerListener(this, magnetometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
// more onCreate method stub ....
In the method of the SensorEventListener you can now calculate the heading of the phone and calculate the bearing between the current location and a other location:
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (event.sensor == this.accelerometer) {
System.arraycopy(event.values, 0, this.lastAccelerometer, 0, event.values.length);
this.lastAccelerometerSet = true;
} else if (event.sensor == this.magnetometer) {
System.arraycopy(event.values, 0, this.lastMagnetometer, 0, event.values.length);
this.lastMagnetometerSet = true;
}
if (this.lastAccelerometerSet && this.lastAccelerometerSet) {
SensorManager.getRotationMatrix(this.rotationMatrix,null, this.lastAccelerometer, this.lastMagnetometer);
SensorManager.getOrientation(this.rotationMatrix, this.orientation);
float azimuthInRadiands = this.orientation[0];
// this is now the heading of the phone. If you want
// to rotate a view to north don´t forget that you have
// to rotate by the negative value.
float azimuthInDegrees = (float) Math.toDegrees(azimuthInRadiands);
}
}
But don´t forget that there is much more behind a compass. You have to show the user if the magnetic field sensor is uncalibrated. You have to calculate the difference between the magnetic and the geographic north...
I have created a small compass helper class. The HowTo is in the readme. It will provide you all the information you need to present a compass on the screen:
Compass Assistant on GitHub
It provides you the current heading of the device. Please don´t hesitate to ask me if you have problems.

For Details look here
Use a compination of TYPE_ACCELEROMETER and TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD.
Sensor beschleunigung = sensor.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER).get(0);
Sensor magnetometer = sensor.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD).get(0);
sensor.registerListener(handler, beschleunigung, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL, null);
sensor.registerListener(handler, magnetometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL, null);
and
handler = new SensorEventListener() {
float[] mGravity;
float[] mGeomagnetic;
#Override
public void onSensorChanged( SensorEvent event ) {
if (event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER)
mGravity = event.values;
if (event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD)
mGeomagnetic = event.values;
if (mGravity != null && mGeomagnetic != null) {
float R[] = new float[9];
float I[] = new float[9];
boolean success = SensorManager.getRotationMatrix(R, I, mGravity, mGeomagnetic);
if (success) {
float orientation[] = new float[3];
SensorManager.getOrientation(R, orientation);
azimut = orientation[0]; // orientation contains: azimut, pitch and roll
}
}
NavigationArrow.this.setOffsetFromNorth((float) Math.toDegrees(azimut));
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged( Sensor sensor, int accuracy ) {
}
};
Hope that helps :)

How to read Android accelerometer values in a stable and accurate way?

In a my project I am trying to control a car using data obtained through the accelerometer of an Android device. (Left, Right, Forward, Reverse). Even though I have managed to read values from the accelerometer the readings are subject to frequent changes even the device is in a stable position. Can someone provide me a better way to do this?
Following is the code that I have used
import android.content.Context;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
public class AccelerometerService {
private static SensorManager sensorManager;
private static SensorEventListener sensorEventListener;
private static boolean started = false;
private static float[] accelerometer = new float[3];
private static float[] magneticField = new float[3];
private static float[] rotationMatrix = new float[9];
private static float[] inclinationMatrix = new float[9];
private static float[] attitude = new float[3];
private final static double RAD2DEG = 180/Math.PI;
private static int initialAzimuth = 0;
private static int initialPitch = 0;
private static int initialRoll = 0;
private static int[] attitudeInDegrees = new int[3];
public static void start(final Context applicationContext) {
if(started) {
return;
}
sensorManager = (SensorManager) applicationContext
.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
sensorEventListener = new SensorEventListener() {
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
int type = event.sensor.getType();
if(type == Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD) {
magneticField = event.values.clone();
}
if(type == Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER) {
accelerometer = event.values.clone();
}
SensorManager.getRotationMatrix(rotationMatrix, inclinationMatrix, accelerometer, magneticField);
SensorManager.getOrientation(rotationMatrix, attitude);
attitudeInDegrees[0] = (int) Math.round(attitude[0] * RAD2DEG); //azimuth
attitudeInDegrees[1] = (int) Math.round(attitude[1] * RAD2DEG); //pitch
attitudeInDegrees[2] = (int) Math.round(attitude[2] * RAD2DEG); //roll
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
};
sensorManager.registerListener(sensorEventListener,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
sensorManager.registerListener(sensorEventListener,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
started = true;
}
public static boolean getStarted() {
return started;
}
public static void stop() {
if(started) {
sensorManager.unregisterListener(sensorEventListener);
started = false;
}
}
}

Old question, but I'm answering here for the sake of others that find this question.
First off, following #andrew-morton link is exactly what I needed, but was in pseudo code, so here is Java for Android!
Second: If you can (you're min API Lvl is 9 or higher), simply use the Sensor.TYPE_GRAVITY. As it is already smoothed out. If you need to support older API Lvls (like I had to), this code should do the trick!
Lastly: This code snippet is somewhat modified from what I am using it for, if you want to use this for yourself, you'll need to create a getter for the Vector3 gravity.
Notes:
I've found that a rolling average of 5 (MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE) is quite smooth. 10 is even more smooth, but you start to notice lag.
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
/**
* Created by andy on 6/14/14.
*/
public class AndroidGravityUpdate implements SensorEventListener {
private SensorManager sensorManager;
Vector3 gravity;
List<Float>[] rollingAverage = new List[3];
private static final int MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE = 5;
AndroidGravityUpdate( SensorManager sensorManager ) {
this.gravity = new Vector3();
this.sensorManager = sensorManager;
if(sensorManager.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_GRAVITY).size() > 0){
sensorManager.registerListener(
this,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_GRAVITY),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME
);
} else if( sensorManager.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER).size() > 0) {
rollingAverage[0] = new ArrayList<Float>();
rollingAverage[1] = new ArrayList<Float>();
rollingAverage[2] = new ArrayList<Float>();
sensorManager.registerListener(
this,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME
);
}
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (event.sensor.getType()==Sensor.TYPE_GRAVITY){
gravity.z = event.values[0];
gravity.x = event.values[1];
gravity.y = - event.values[2];
}
else if ( event.sensor.getType()==Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER) {
//For whatever reason, my Samsung only has "Accelerometer"
// But it is incredibly rough, so attempting to smooth
// it out with rolling averages.
rollingAverage[0] = roll(rollingAverage[0], event.values[0]);
rollingAverage[1] = roll(rollingAverage[1], event.values[1]);
rollingAverage[2] = roll(rollingAverage[2], -event.values[2]);
gravity.z = averageList(rollingAverage[0]);
gravity.x = averageList(rollingAverage[1]);
gravity.y = averageList(rollingAverage[2]);
}
}
public List<Float> roll(List<Float> list, float newMember){
if(list.size() == MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE){
list.remove(0);
}
list.add(newMember);
return list;
}
public float averageList(List<Float> tallyUp){
float total=0;
for(float item : tallyUp ){
total+=item;
}
total = total/tallyUp.size();
return total;
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
}
class Vector3 {
float x;
float y;
float z;
}

Android Accelerometer Data Class

I have the following class to read data from accelerometer:
public class Accelerometer implements SensorEventListener {
private SensorManager mSensorManager;
private Sensor mAccelerometer;
float deltaX;
float deltaY;
float deltaZ;
Activity activity;
public Accelerometer(Activity act)
{
this.activity = act;
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) this.activity.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
mAccelerometer = mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
mSensorManager.registerListener(this, mAccelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}
public float getDeltaX()
{
return this.deltaX;
}
public float getDeltaY()
{
return this.deltaY;
}
public float getDeltaZ()
{
return this.deltaZ;
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
deltaX = event.values[0];
deltaY = event.values[1];
deltaZ = event.values[2];
}
}
and I am accessing this class from my main activity class using the following code:
Accelerometer sbt = new Accelerometer (this);
tvX.setText(Float.toString(sbt.getDeltaX()) + " " +Float.toString(sbt.getDeltaY()) + " "+Float.toString(sbt.getDeltaZ()));
However, it always shows me 0, 0, 0. not sure whats wrong with current code. any help would be highly appreciated.

THe accelerometer (and all sensor data) works on a callback system. It won't call you until the next time it reads the sensor, and it will continue to call your onSensorChanged until you unregister. But if you try to set the text immediately after registering, you won't have been called yet. You need to set the textView in onSensorChanged, when you're updated with new values.

Direction using sensor

In my app i wanted to show device direction such as north, south, east, west. For that i am using accelerometer and magnetic sensor and tried with following code.
public class MainActivity extends Activity implements SensorEventListener
{
public static float swRoll;
public static float swPitch;
public static float swAzimuth;
public static SensorManager mSensorManager;
public static Sensor accelerometer;
public static Sensor magnetometer;
public static float[] mAccelerometer = null;
public static float[] mGeomagnetic = null;
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event)
{
// onSensorChanged gets called for each sensor so we have to remember the values
if (event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER)
{
mAccelerometer = event.values;
}
if (event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD)
{
mGeomagnetic = event.values;
}
if (mAccelerometer != null && mGeomagnetic != null)
{
float R[] = new float[9];
float I[] = new float[9];
boolean success = SensorManager.getRotationMatrix(R, I, mAccelerometer, mGeomagnetic);
if (success)
{
float orientation[] = new float[3];
SensorManager.getOrientation(R, orientation);
// at this point, orientation contains the azimuth(direction), pitch and roll values.
double azimuth = 180 * orientation[0] / Math.PI;
//double pitch = 180 * orientation[1] / Math.PI;
//double roll = 180 * orientation[2] / Math.PI;
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "azimuth: "+azimuth, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
//Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "pitch: "+pitch, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
//Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "roll: "+roll, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
}
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
mSensorManager = (SensorManager)getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
accelerometer = mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
magnetometer = mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD);
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mSensorManager.registerListener(this, accelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);
mSensorManager.registerListener(this, magnetometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
mSensorManager.unregisterListener(this, accelerometer);
mSensorManager.unregisterListener(this, magnetometer);
}
}
I read some artical and come to know that azimuth value is use for getting direction. But it not shows proper value i.e it always shows value between 103 to 140 in any direction. I am using samsung galaxy s for test purpose. where i goes wrong.
Any help will be appreciated...thank you

EDIT: I'm going to keep this answer up because there are no other answers here, but my gut feeling looking at this code again is it probably doesn't work well. Use at your own risk, and if anyone ever gives a decent answer I'll delete this
Here's a compass sensor I wrote for my own use. It works, somewhat. In reality it needs better filtering- the results from the sensor are very noisy, I built a filter on top of it to slow the updates and it improved things, but it needs a much better filter if it was to be used in production
package com.gabesechan.android.reusable.sensor;
import java.lang.ref.WeakReference;
import java.util.HashSet;
import android.content.Context;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.Message;
public class CompassSensor {
SensorManager sm;
int lastDirection = -1;
int lastPitch;
int lastRoll;
boolean firstReading = true;
HashSet<CompassListener> listeners = new HashSet<CompassListener>();
static CompassSensor mInstance;
public static CompassSensor getInstance(Context ctx){
if(mInstance == null){
mInstance = new CompassSensor(ctx);
}
return mInstance;
}
private CompassSensor(Context ctx){
sm = (SensorManager) ctx.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
onResume();
}
public void onResume(){
sm.registerListener(sensorListener, sm.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER), SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
sm.registerListener(sensorListener, sm.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD), SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
firstReading = true;
//Restart the timer only if we have listeners
if(listeners.size()>0){
handler.sendMessageDelayed(Message.obtain(handler, 1),1000);
}
}
public void onPause(){
sm.unregisterListener(sensorListener);
handler.removeMessages(1);
}
private final SensorEventListener sensorListener = new SensorEventListener(){
float accelerometerValues[] = null;
float geomagneticMatrix[] = null;
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (event.accuracy == SensorManager.SENSOR_STATUS_UNRELIABLE)
return;
switch (event.sensor.getType()) {
case Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER:
accelerometerValues = event.values.clone();
break;
case Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD:
geomagneticMatrix = event.values.clone();
break;
}
if (geomagneticMatrix != null && accelerometerValues != null && event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD) {
float[] R = new float[16];
float[] I = new float[16];
float[] outR = new float[16];
//Get the rotation matrix, then remap it from camera surface to world coordinates
SensorManager.getRotationMatrix(R, I, accelerometerValues, geomagneticMatrix);
SensorManager.remapCoordinateSystem(R, SensorManager.AXIS_X, SensorManager.AXIS_Z, outR);
float values[] = new float[4];
SensorManager.getOrientation(outR,values);
int direction = normalizeDegrees(filterChange((int)Math.toDegrees(values[0])));
int pitch = normalizeDegrees(Math.toDegrees(values[1]));
int roll = normalizeDegrees(Math.toDegrees(values[2]));
if((int)direction != (int)lastDirection){
lastDirection = (int)direction;
lastPitch = (int)pitch;
lastRoll = (int)roll;
}
}
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
};
//Normalize a degree from 0 to 360 instead of -180 to 180
private int normalizeDegrees(double rads){
return (int)((rads+360)%360);
}
//We want to ignore large bumps in individual readings. So we're going to cap the number of degrees we can change per report
private static final int MAX_CHANGE = 3;
private int filterChange(int newDir){
newDir = normalizeDegrees(newDir);
//On the first reading, assume it's right. Otherwise NW readings take forever to ramp up
if(firstReading){
firstReading = false;
return newDir;
}
//Figure out how many degrees to move
int delta = newDir - lastDirection;
int normalizedDelta = normalizeDegrees(delta);
int change = Math.min(Math.abs(delta),MAX_CHANGE);
//We always want to move in the direction of lower distance. So if newDir is lower and delta is less than half a circle, lower lastDir
// Same if newDir is higher but the delta is more than half a circle (you'd be faster in the other direction going lower).
if( normalizedDelta > 180 ){
change = -change;
}
return lastDirection+change;
}
public void addListener(CompassListener listener){
if(listeners.size() == 0){
//Start the timer on first listener
handler.sendMessageDelayed(Message.obtain(handler, 1),1000);
}
listeners.add(listener);
}
public void removeListener(CompassListener listener){
listeners.remove(listener);
if(listeners.size() == 0){
handler.removeMessages(1);
}
}
public int getLastDirection(){
return lastDirection;
}
public int getLastPitch(){
return lastPitch;
}
public int getLastRoll(){
return lastPitch;
}
private void callListeners(){
for(CompassListener listener: listeners){
listener.onDirectionChanged(lastDirection, lastPitch, lastRoll);
}
}
//This handler is run every 1s, and updates the listeners
//Static class because otherwise we leak, Eclipse told me so
static class IncomingHandler extends Handler {
private final WeakReference<CompassSensor> compassSensor;
IncomingHandler(CompassSensor sensor) {
compassSensor = new WeakReference<CompassSensor>(sensor);
}
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg)
{
CompassSensor sensor = compassSensor.get();
if (sensor != null) {
sensor.callListeners();
}
sendMessageDelayed(Message.obtain(this, 1), 1000);
}
}
IncomingHandler handler = new IncomingHandler(this);
public interface CompassListener {
void onDirectionChanged(int direction, int pitch, int roll);
}
}

How to refresh app upon shaking the device?

I need to add a shake feature that will refresh my Android application.
All I find of documentation involves implementing the SensorListener, but Eclipse tells me it's deprecated and suggest SensorEventListener.
Anybody that has a nice guide to how I go about creating this shake controller?

Here is an example code.
Put this into your activity class:
/* 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();
}
And add this to your onCreate method:
/* 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;
You can then ask "mAccel" wherever you want in your application for the current acceleration, independent from the axis and cleaned from static acceleration such as gravity.
It will be approx. 0 if there is no movement, and, lets say >2 if the device is shaked.
Based on the comments - to test this:
if (mAccel > 12) {
Toast toast = Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Device has shaken.", Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
toast.show();
}
Notes:
The accelometer should be deactivated onPause and activated onResume to save resources (CPU, Battery).
The code assumes we are on planet Earth ;-) and initializes the acceleration to earth gravity. Otherwise you would get a strong "shake" when the application starts and "hits" the ground from free-fall. However, the code gets used to the gravitation due to the low-cut filter and would work also on other planets or in free space, once it is initialized.
(you never know how long your application will be in use...;-)

Here is my code for shake gesture detection:
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
/**
* Listener that detects shake gesture.
*/
public class ShakeEventListener implements SensorEventListener {
/** Minimum movement force to consider. */
private static final int MIN_FORCE = 10;
/**
* Minimum times in a shake gesture that the direction of movement needs to
* change.
*/
private static final int MIN_DIRECTION_CHANGE = 3;
/** Maximum pause between movements. */
private static final int MAX_PAUSE_BETHWEEN_DIRECTION_CHANGE = 200;
/** Maximum allowed time for shake gesture. */
private static final int MAX_TOTAL_DURATION_OF_SHAKE = 400;
/** Time when the gesture started. */
private long mFirstDirectionChangeTime = 0;
/** Time when the last movement started. */
private long mLastDirectionChangeTime;
/** How many movements are considered so far. */
private int mDirectionChangeCount = 0;
/** The last x position. */
private float lastX = 0;
/** The last y position. */
private float lastY = 0;
/** The last z position. */
private float lastZ = 0;
/** OnShakeListener that is called when shake is detected. */
private OnShakeListener mShakeListener;
/**
* Interface for shake gesture.
*/
public interface OnShakeListener {
/**
* Called when shake gesture is detected.
*/
void onShake();
}
public void setOnShakeListener(OnShakeListener listener) {
mShakeListener = listener;
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent se) {
// get sensor data
float x = se.values[SensorManager.DATA_X];
float y = se.values[SensorManager.DATA_Y];
float z = se.values[SensorManager.DATA_Z];
// calculate movement
float totalMovement = Math.abs(x + y + z - lastX - lastY - lastZ);
if (totalMovement > MIN_FORCE) {
// get time
long now = System.currentTimeMillis();
// store first movement time
if (mFirstDirectionChangeTime == 0) {
mFirstDirectionChangeTime = now;
mLastDirectionChangeTime = now;
}
// check if the last movement was not long ago
long lastChangeWasAgo = now - mLastDirectionChangeTime;
if (lastChangeWasAgo < MAX_PAUSE_BETHWEEN_DIRECTION_CHANGE) {
// store movement data
mLastDirectionChangeTime = now;
mDirectionChangeCount++;
// store last sensor data
lastX = x;
lastY = y;
lastZ = z;
// check how many movements are so far
if (mDirectionChangeCount >= MIN_DIRECTION_CHANGE) {
// check total duration
long totalDuration = now - mFirstDirectionChangeTime;
if (totalDuration < MAX_TOTAL_DURATION_OF_SHAKE) {
mShakeListener.onShake();
resetShakeParameters();
}
}
} else {
resetShakeParameters();
}
}
}
/**
* Resets the shake parameters to their default values.
*/
private void resetShakeParameters() {
mFirstDirectionChangeTime = 0;
mDirectionChangeCount = 0;
mLastDirectionChangeTime = 0;
lastX = 0;
lastY = 0;
lastZ = 0;
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
}
Add this in your activity:
private SensorManager mSensorManager;
private ShakeEventListener mSensorListener;
...
in onCreate() add:
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
mSensorListener = new ShakeEventListener();
mSensorListener.setOnShakeListener(new ShakeEventListener.OnShakeListener() {
public void onShake() {
Toast.makeText(KPBActivityImpl.this, "Shake!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
and:
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mSensorManager.registerListener(mSensorListener,
mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
mSensorManager.unregisterListener(mSensorListener);
super.onPause();
}

Here's yet another implementation that builds on some of the tips in here as well as the code from the Android developer site.
MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
private ShakeDetector mShakeDetector;
private SensorManager mSensorManager;
private Sensor mAccelerometer;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
// ShakeDetector initialization
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
mAccelerometer = mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
mShakeDetector = new ShakeDetector(new OnShakeListener() {
#Override
public void onShake() {
// Do stuff!
}
});
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mSensorManager.registerListener(mShakeDetector, mAccelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
mSensorManager.unregisterListener(mShakeDetector);
super.onPause();
}
}
ShakeDetector.java
package com.example.test;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
public class ShakeDetector implements SensorEventListener {
// Minimum acceleration needed to count as a shake movement
private static final int MIN_SHAKE_ACCELERATION = 5;
// Minimum number of movements to register a shake
private static final int MIN_MOVEMENTS = 2;
// Maximum time (in milliseconds) for the whole shake to occur
private static final int MAX_SHAKE_DURATION = 500;
// Arrays to store gravity and linear acceleration values
private float[] mGravity = { 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f };
private float[] mLinearAcceleration = { 0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f };
// Indexes for x, y, and z values
private static final int X = 0;
private static final int Y = 1;
private static final int Z = 2;
// OnShakeListener that will be notified when the shake is detected
private OnShakeListener mShakeListener;
// Start time for the shake detection
long startTime = 0;
// Counter for shake movements
int moveCount = 0;
// Constructor that sets the shake listener
public ShakeDetector(OnShakeListener shakeListener) {
mShakeListener = shakeListener;
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
// This method will be called when the accelerometer detects a change.
// Call a helper method that wraps code from the Android developer site
setCurrentAcceleration(event);
// Get the max linear acceleration in any direction
float maxLinearAcceleration = getMaxCurrentLinearAcceleration();
// Check if the acceleration is greater than our minimum threshold
if (maxLinearAcceleration > MIN_SHAKE_ACCELERATION) {
long now = System.currentTimeMillis();
// Set the startTime if it was reset to zero
if (startTime == 0) {
startTime = now;
}
long elapsedTime = now - startTime;
// Check if we're still in the shake window we defined
if (elapsedTime > MAX_SHAKE_DURATION) {
// Too much time has passed. Start over!
resetShakeDetection();
}
else {
// Keep track of all the movements
moveCount++;
// Check if enough movements have been made to qualify as a shake
if (moveCount > MIN_MOVEMENTS) {
// It's a shake! Notify the listener.
mShakeListener.onShake();
// Reset for the next one!
resetShakeDetection();
}
}
}
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
// Intentionally blank
}
private void setCurrentAcceleration(SensorEvent event) {
/*
* BEGIN SECTION from Android developer site. This code accounts for
* gravity using a high-pass filter
*/
// alpha is calculated as t / (t + dT)
// with t, the low-pass filter's time-constant
// and dT, the event delivery rate
final float alpha = 0.8f;
// Gravity components of x, y, and z acceleration
mGravity[X] = alpha * mGravity[X] + (1 - alpha) * event.values[X];
mGravity[Y] = alpha * mGravity[Y] + (1 - alpha) * event.values[Y];
mGravity[Z] = alpha * mGravity[Z] + (1 - alpha) * event.values[Z];
// Linear acceleration along the x, y, and z axes (gravity effects removed)
mLinearAcceleration[X] = event.values[X] - mGravity[X];
mLinearAcceleration[Y] = event.values[Y] - mGravity[Y];
mLinearAcceleration[Z] = event.values[Z] - mGravity[Z];
/*
* END SECTION from Android developer site
*/
}
private float getMaxCurrentLinearAcceleration() {
// Start by setting the value to the x value
float maxLinearAcceleration = mLinearAcceleration[X];
// Check if the y value is greater
if (mLinearAcceleration[Y] > maxLinearAcceleration) {
maxLinearAcceleration = mLinearAcceleration[Y];
}
// Check if the z value is greater
if (mLinearAcceleration[Z] > maxLinearAcceleration) {
maxLinearAcceleration = mLinearAcceleration[Z];
}
// Return the greatest value
return maxLinearAcceleration;
}
private void resetShakeDetection() {
startTime = 0;
moveCount = 0;
}
// (I'd normally put this definition in it's own .java file)
public interface OnShakeListener {
public void onShake();
}
}

I really liked Peterdk's answer. I took it upon myself to make a coulpe of tweaks to his code .
file: ShakeDetector.java
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.util.FloatMath;
public class ShakeDetector implements SensorEventListener {
// The gForce that is necessary to register as shake. Must be greater than 1G (one earth gravity unit)
private static final float SHAKE_THRESHOLD_GRAVITY = 2.7F;
private static final int SHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS = 500;
private static final int SHAKE_COUNT_RESET_TIME_MS = 3000;
private OnShakeListener mListener;
private long mShakeTimestamp;
private int mShakeCount;
public void setOnShakeListener(OnShakeListener listener) {
this.mListener = listener;
}
public interface OnShakeListener {
public void onShake(int count);
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
// ignore
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (mListener != null) {
float x = event.values[0];
float y = event.values[1];
float z = event.values[2];
float gX = x / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
float gY = y / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
float gZ = z / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
// gForce will be close to 1 when there is no movement.
float gForce = FloatMath.sqrt(gX * gX + gY * gY + gZ * gZ);
if (gForce > SHAKE_THRESHOLD_GRAVITY) {
final long 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);
}
}
}
}
Also, don't forget that you need to register an instance of the ShakeDetector with the SensorManager.
// ShakeDetector initialization
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
mAccelerometer = mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
mShakeDetector = new ShakeDetector();
mShakeDetector.setOnShakeListener(new OnShakeListener() {
#Override
public void onShake(int count) {
handleShakeEvent(count);
}
});
mSensorManager.registerListener(mShakeDetector, mAccelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI);

I am developing a motion-detection and shake-detection app for my university project.
Besides the original target of the application, I am splitting the library part (responsible for motion and shake detection) from the app. The code is free, available on SourceForge with the project name "BenderCatch". Documentation I am producing will be ready around mid-september.
http://sf.net/projects/bendercatch
It uses a more precise way to detect shake: watches BOTH the difference of force between SensorEvents AND the oscillations present in X and Y axis when you perform a shake. It can even make a sound (or vibrate) on each oscillation of the shake.
Feel free to ask me more by e-mail at raffaele [at] terzigno [dot] com

I have written a small example for detecting vertical and horizontal shakes and showing a Toast.
public class Accelerometerka2Activity extends Activity implements SensorEventListener {
private float mLastX, mLastY, mLastZ;
private boolean mInitialized;
private SensorManager mSensorManager;
private Sensor mAccelerometer;
private final float NOISE = (float) 8.0;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
mInitialized = false;
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
mAccelerometer = mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
mSensorManager.registerListener(this, mAccelerometer , SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mSensorManager.registerListener(this, mAccelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
mSensorManager.unregisterListener(this);
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
// can be safely ignored for this demo
}
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
float x = event.values[0];
float y = event.values[1];
float z = event.values[2];
if (!mInitialized) {
mLastX = x;
mLastY = y;
mLastZ = z;
mInitialized = true;
} else {
float deltaX = Math.abs(mLastX - x);
float deltaY = Math.abs(mLastY - y);
float deltaZ = Math.abs(mLastZ - z);
if (deltaX < NOISE) deltaX = (float)0.0;
if (deltaY < NOISE) deltaY = (float)0.0;
if (deltaZ < NOISE) deltaZ = (float)0.0;
mLastX = x;
mLastY = y;
mLastZ = z;
if (deltaX > deltaY) {
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), "Horizental", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} else if (deltaY > deltaX) {
Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), "Vertical", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
}
}

You can use seismic. An example can be found here.

I have tried several implementations, but would like to share my own.
It uses G-force as unit for the threshold calculation. It makes it a bit easier to understand what is going on, and also with setting a good threshold.
It simply registers a increase in G force and triggers the listener if it exceeds the threshold. It doesn't use any direction thresholds, cause you don't really need that if you just want to register a good shake.
Of-course you need the standard registering and UN-registering of this listener in the Activity.
Also, to check what threshold you need, I recommend the following app (I am not in any way connected to that app)
public class UmitoShakeEventListener implements SensorEventListener {
/**
* The gforce that is necessary to register as shake. (Must include 1G
* gravity)
*/
private final float shakeThresholdInGForce = 2.25F;
private final float gravityEarth = SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
private OnShakeListener listener;
public void setOnShakeListener(OnShakeListener listener) {
this.listener = listener;
}
public interface OnShakeListener {
public void onShake();
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
// ignore
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (listener != null) {
float x = event.values[0];
float y = event.values[1];
float z = event.values[2];
float gX = x / gravityEarth;
float gY = y / gravityEarth;
float gZ = z / gravityEarth;
//G-Force will be 1 when there is no movement. (gravity)
float gForce = FloatMath.sqrt(gX * gX + gY * gY + gZ * gZ);
if (gForce > shakeThresholdInGForce) {
listener.onShake();
}
}
}
}

Here is another code for this:
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Timer;
import java.util.TimerTask;
import android.content.Context;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.os.Handler;
public class AccelerometerListener implements SensorEventListener {
private SensorManager sensorManager;
private List<Sensor> sensors;
private Sensor sensor;
private long lastUpdate = -1;
private long currentTime = -1;
private Main parent;
private Timer timer;
private int shakes;
private static final Handler mHandler = new Handler();
private float last_x, last_y, last_z;
private float current_x, current_y, current_z, currenForce;
private static final int FORCE_THRESHOLD = 500;
private final int DATA_X = SensorManager.DATA_X;
private final int DATA_Y = SensorManager.DATA_Y;
private final int DATA_Z = SensorManager.DATA_Z;
public AccelerometerListener(Main parent) {
SensorManager sensorService = (SensorManager) parent
.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
this.sensorManager = sensorService;
if (sensorService == null)
return;
this.sensors = sensorManager.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
if (sensors.size() > 0) {
sensor = sensors.get(0);
}
this.parent = parent;
}
public void start() {
if (sensor == null)
return;
sensorManager.registerListener(this, sensor,
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);
}
public void stop() {
if (sensorManager == null)
return;
sensorManager.unregisterListener(this);
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor s, int valu) {
}
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (event.sensor.getType() != Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER)
return;
currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
if ((currentTime - lastUpdate) > 50) {
long diffTime = (currentTime - lastUpdate);
lastUpdate = currentTime;
current_x = event.values[DATA_X];
current_y = event.values[DATA_Y];
current_z = event.values[DATA_Z];
currenForce = Math.abs(current_x + current_y + current_z - last_x
- last_y - last_z)
/ diffTime * 10000;
if (currenForce > FORCE_THRESHOLD) {
shakeDetected();
}
last_x = current_x;
last_y = current_y;
last_z = current_z;
}
}
private void shakeDetected() {
shakes++;
if (shakes == 1) {
if (timer != null) {
timer.cancel();
}
timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
#Override
public void run() {
if (shakes > 3) {
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
// shake
}
});
}
shakes = 0;
}
}, 500);
}
}
}

package anywheresoftware.b4a.student;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.util.FloatMath;
public class ShakeEventListener implements SensorEventListener {
/*
* 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 static final float SHAKE_THRESHOLD_GRAVITY = 2.7F;
private static int SHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS = 500;
private static final int SHAKE_COUNT_RESET_TIME_MS = 1000;
private OnShakeListener mListener;
private long mShakeTimestamp;
private int mShakeCount;
public void setOnShakeListener(OnShakeListener listener) {
this.mListener = listener;
}
public interface OnShakeListener {
public void onShake(int count);
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
// ignore
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (mListener != null) {
float x = event.values[0];
float y = event.values[1];
float z = event.values[2];
float gX = x / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
float gY = y / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
float gZ = z / SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
// gForce will be close to 1 when there is no movement.
float gForce = FloatMath.sqrt(gX * gX + gY * gY + gZ * gZ);
if (gForce > SHAKE_THRESHOLD_GRAVITY) {
final long now = System.currentTimeMillis();
// ignore shake events too close to each other (500ms)
if (mShakeTimestamp + getSHAKE_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);
}
}
}
private long getSHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
return SHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS;
}
public void setSHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS(int sHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS) {
SHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS = sHAKE_SLOP_TIME_MS;
}
}

package com.example.shakingapp;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.Window;
import android.view.WindowManager;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class MainActivity extends Activity implements SensorEventListener {
private SensorManager sensorManager;
private boolean color = false;
private View view;
private long lastUpdate;
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN,
WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN);
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
view = findViewById(R.id.textView);
view.setBackgroundColor(Color.GREEN);
sensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
lastUpdate = System.currentTimeMillis();
}
#Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
if (event.sensor.getType() == Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER) {
getAccelerometer(event);
}
}
private void getAccelerometer(SensorEvent event) {
float[] values = event.values;
// Movement
float x = values[0];
float y = values[1];
float z = values[2];
System.out.println(x);
System.out.println(y);
System.out.println(z);
System.out.println(SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH );
float accelationSquareRoot = (x * x + y * y + z * z)
/ (SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH * SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH);
long actualTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
if (accelationSquareRoot >= 2) //
{
if (actualTime - lastUpdate < 200) {
return;
}
lastUpdate = actualTime;
Toast.makeText(this, "Device was shuffed "+accelationSquareRoot, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT)
.show();
if (color) {
view.setBackgroundColor(Color.GREEN);
} else {
view.setBackgroundColor(Color.RED);
}
color = !color;
}
}
#Override
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
// register this class as a listener for the orientation and
// accelerometer sensors
sensorManager.registerListener(this,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
// unregister listener
super.onPause();
sensorManager.unregisterListener(this);
}
}

Shaker.java
import java.util.ArrayList;
import android.content.Context;
import android.hardware.Sensor;
import android.hardware.SensorEvent;
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener;
import android.hardware.SensorManager;
public class Shaker implements SensorEventListener{
private static final String SENSOR_SERVICE = Context.SENSOR_SERVICE;
private SensorManager sensorMgr;
private Sensor mAccelerometer;
private boolean accelSupported;
private long timeInMillis;
private long threshold;
private OnShakerTreshold listener;
ArrayList<Float> valueStack;
public Shaker(Context context, OnShakerTreshold listener, long timeInMillis, long threshold) {
try {
this.timeInMillis = timeInMillis;
this.threshold = threshold;
this.listener = listener;
if (timeInMillis<100){
throw new Exception("timeInMillis < 100ms");
}
valueStack = new ArrayList<Float>((int)(timeInMillis/100));
sensorMgr = (SensorManager) context.getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
mAccelerometer = sensorMgr.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER);
} catch (Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void start() {
try {
accelSupported = sensorMgr.registerListener(this, mAccelerometer, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);
if (!accelSupported) {
stop();
throw new Exception("Sensor is not supported");
}
} catch (Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void stop(){
try {
sensorMgr.unregisterListener(this, mAccelerometer);
} catch (Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
#Override
protected void finalize() throws Throwable {
try {
stop();
} catch (Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
super.finalize();
}
long lastUpdate = 0;
private float last_x;
private float last_y;
private float last_z;
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
try {
if (event.sensor == mAccelerometer) {
long curTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
if ((curTime-lastUpdate)>getNumberOfMeasures()){
lastUpdate = System.currentTimeMillis();
float[] values = event.values;
if (valueStack.size()>(int)getNumberOfMeasures())
valueStack.remove(0);
float x = (int)(values[SensorManager.DATA_X]);
float y = (int)(values[SensorManager.DATA_Y]);
float z = (int)(values[SensorManager.DATA_Z]);
float speed = Math.abs((x+y+z) - (last_x + last_y + last_z));
valueStack.add(speed);
String posText = String.format("X:%4.0f Y:%4.0f Z:%4.0f", (x-last_x), (y-last_y), (z-last_z));
last_x = (x);
last_y = (y);
last_z = (z);
float sumOfValues = 0;
float avgOfValues = 0;
for (float f : valueStack){
sumOfValues = (sumOfValues+f);
}
avgOfValues = sumOfValues/(int)getNumberOfMeasures();
if (avgOfValues>=threshold){
listener.onTreshold();
valueStack.clear();
}
System.out.println(String.format("M: %+4d A: %5.0f V: %4.0f %s", valueStack.size(),avgOfValues,speed,posText));
}
}
} catch (Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
private long getNumberOfMeasures() {
return timeInMillis/100;
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {}
public interface OnShakerTreshold {
public void onTreshold();
}
}
MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnShakerTreshold{
private Shaker s;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
s = new Shaker(getApplicationContext(), this, 5000, 20);
// 5000 = 5 second of shaking
// 20 = minimal threshold (very angry shaking :D)
// beware screen rotation reset counter
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
s.start();
super.onResume();
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
s.stop();
super.onPause();
}
public void onTreshold() {
System.out.println("FIRE LISTENER");
RingtoneManager.getRingtone(getApplicationContext(), RingtoneManager.getDefaultUri(RingtoneManager.TYPE_NOTIFICATION)).play();
}
}
Have fun.

// Need to implement SensorListener
public class ShakeActivity extends Activity implements SensorListener {
// For shake motion detection.
private SensorManager sensorMgr;
private long lastUpdate = -1;
private float x, y, z;
private float last_x, last_y, last_z;
private static final int SHAKE_THRESHOLD = 800;
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// start motion detection
sensorMgr = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
boolean accelSupported = sensorMgr.registerListener(this,
SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER,
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_GAME);
if (!accelSupported) {
// on accelerometer on this device
sensorMgr.unregisterListener(this,
SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER);
}
}
protected void onPause() {
if (sensorMgr != null) {
sensorMgr.unregisterListener(this,
SensorManager.SENSOR_ACCELEROMETER);
sensorMgr = null;
}
super.onPause();
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(int arg0, int arg1) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
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) {
// yes, this is a shake action! Do something about it!
}
last_x = x;
last_y = y;
last_z = z;
}
}
}
}

You should subscribe as a SensorEventListener, and get the accelerometer data.
Once you have it, you should monitor for sudden change in direction (sign) of acceleration on a certain axis. It would be a good indication for the 'shake' movement of device.

Working with me v.good
Reference
public class ShakeEventListener implements SensorEventListener {
public final static int SHAKE_LIMIT = 15;
public final static int LITTLE_SHAKE_LIMIT = 5;
private SensorManager mSensorManager;
private float mAccel = 0.00f;
private float mAccelCurrent = SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
private float mAccelLast = SensorManager.GRAVITY_EARTH;
private ShakeListener listener;
public interface ShakeListener {
public void onShake();
public void onLittleShake();
}
public ShakeEventListener(ShakeListener l) {
Activity a = (Activity) l;
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) a.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
listener = l;
registerListener();
}
public ShakeEventListener(Activity a, ShakeListener l) {
mSensorManager = (SensorManager) a.getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
listener = l;
registerListener();
}
public void registerListener() {
mSensorManager.registerListener(this, mSensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER), SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL);
}
public void unregisterListener() {
mSensorManager.unregisterListener(this);
}
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent se) {
float x = se.values[0];
float y = se.values[1];
float z = se.values[2];
mAccelLast = mAccelCurrent;
mAccelCurrent = (float) FloatMath.sqrt(x*x + y*y + z*z);
float delta = mAccelCurrent - mAccelLast;
mAccel = mAccel * 0.9f + delta;
if(mAccel > SHAKE_LIMIT)
listener.onShake();
else if(mAccel > LITTLE_SHAKE_LIMIT)
listener.onLittleShake();
}
public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int accuracy) {}
}

You might want to try open source tinybus. With it shake detection is as easy as this.
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
private Bus mBus;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
...
// Create a bus and attach it to activity
mBus = TinyBus.from(this).wire(new ShakeEventWire());
}
#Subscribe
public void onShakeEvent(ShakeEvent event) {
Toast.makeText(this, "Device has been shaken",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
#Override
protected void onStart() {
super.onStart();
mBus.register(this);
}
#Override
protected void onStop() {
mBus.unregister(this);
super.onStop();
}
}
It uses seismic for shake detection.

I modify #peceps's answer and make kotlin version of it. And I also add LifecycleOwner parameter to make it lifecycle-aware.
import android.hardware.Sensor
import android.hardware.SensorEvent
import android.hardware.SensorEventListener
import android.hardware.SensorManager
import androidx.lifecycle.DefaultLifecycleObserver
import androidx.lifecycle.LifecycleOwner
import kotlin.math.abs
/**
* Listener that detects shake gesture.
*/
class ShakeEventListener(
lifecycleOwner: LifecycleOwner,
private val sensorManager: SensorManager,
private val onShake: () -> Unit = {}
) : SensorEventListener, DefaultLifecycleObserver {
/** Time when the gesture started. */
private var mFirstDirectionChangeTime: Long = 0
/** Time when the last movement started. */
private var mLastDirectionChangeTime: Long = 0
/** How many movements are considered so far. */
private var mDirectionChangeCount = 0
/** The last x position. */
private var lastX = 0f
/** The last y position. */
private var lastY = 0f
/** The last z position. */
private var lastZ = 0f
init {
sensorManager.registerListener(
this,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI
)
// observe lifecycle state
lifecycleOwner.lifecycle.addObserver(this)
}
override fun onResume(owner: LifecycleOwner) {
sensorManager.registerListener(
this,
sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER),
SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_UI
)
}
override fun onPause(owner: LifecycleOwner) {
sensorManager.unregisterListener(this)
}
override fun onSensorChanged(se: SensorEvent) {
// get sensor data
val x = se.values[0]
val y = se.values[1]
val z = se.values[2]
// calculate movement
val totalMovement = abs(x + y + z - lastX - lastY - lastZ)
if (totalMovement > MIN_FORCE) {
// get time
val now = System.currentTimeMillis()
// store first movement time
if (mFirstDirectionChangeTime == 0L) {
mFirstDirectionChangeTime = now
mLastDirectionChangeTime = now
}
// check if the last movement was not long ago
val lastChangeWasAgo = now - mLastDirectionChangeTime
if (lastChangeWasAgo < MAX_PAUSE_BETWEEN_DIRECTION_CHANGE) {
// store movement data
mLastDirectionChangeTime = now
mDirectionChangeCount++
// store last sensor data
lastX = x
lastY = y
lastZ = z
// check how many movements are so far
if (mDirectionChangeCount >= MIN_DIRECTION_CHANGE) {
// check total duration
val totalDuration = now - mFirstDirectionChangeTime
if (totalDuration < MAX_TOTAL_DURATION_OF_SHAKE) {
onShake()
resetShakeParameters()
}
}
} else {
resetShakeParameters()
}
}
}
/**
* Resets the shake parameters to their default values.
*/
private fun resetShakeParameters() {
mFirstDirectionChangeTime = 0
mDirectionChangeCount = 0
mLastDirectionChangeTime = 0
lastX = 0f
lastY = 0f
lastZ = 0f
}
override fun onAccuracyChanged(sensor: Sensor, accuracy: Int) {}
companion object {
/** Minimum movement force to consider. */
private const val MIN_FORCE = 10
/**
* Minimum times in a shake gesture that the direction of movement needs to
* change.
*/
private const val MIN_DIRECTION_CHANGE = 3
/** Maximum pause between movements. */
private const val MAX_PAUSE_BETWEEN_DIRECTION_CHANGE = 200
/** Maximum allowed time for shake gesture. */
private const val MAX_TOTAL_DURATION_OF_SHAKE = 400
}
}
In your activity, add this code to make it detecting shake event:
ShakeEventListener(this, sensorManager){
// onShake logic
}