From a field-geology perspective, the new generation of Windows tablets and “transformable laptops” hold great promise given the new internal compass and orientation sensors. Automatically determining and saving locations and orientations (dip direction and inclination angle) are the most obvious examples. Unfortunately, several days of searching the web for a comparison of the sensors offered by the various tablet and transformable-laptop manufacturers has proven to be a fruitless and frustrating endeavor. With this in mind, I’ve decided to start my own, meager comparison chart, starting with the Dell Venue 8. Hopefully, we’ll be expanding this list with feedback from other interested geo-field-geeks and maybe, just maybe, some of the hardware manufacturers.
|
Sensor |
Field |
Dell Venue 8 |
|
|
Accelerometer (HID Sensor Collection) |
AccelerationX |
YES |
|
|
AccelerationY |
YES |
||
|
AccelerationZ |
YES |
||
|
AngleAccelX |
no |
||
|
AngleAccelY |
no |
||
|
AngleAccelZ |
no |
||
|
Motion |
no |
||
|
Speed |
no |
||
|
UpdateInterval |
YES |
||
|
Ambient Light (HID Sensor Collection) |
Lux |
YES |
|
|
Temperature |
no |
||
|
Chromacity |
no |
||
|
Compass (HID Sensor Collection) |
TiltX |
no |
|
|
TiltY |
no |
||
|
TiltZ |
no |
||
|
DistanceX |
no |
||
|
DistanceY |
no |
||
|
DistanceZ |
no |
||
|
HeadingX |
no |
||
|
HeadingY |
no |
||
|
HeadingZ |
no |
||
|
MagHeading |
no |
||
|
TrueHeading |
YES |
||
|
CompTrueHeading |
no |
||
|
Gyrometer (HID Sensor Collection) |
AccelerationX |
no |
|
|
AccelerationY |
no |
||
|
AccelerationZ |
no |
||
|
AngleAccelX |
no |
||
|
AngleAccelY |
no |
||
|
AngleAccelZ |
no |
||
|
Motion |
no |
||
|
Speed |
no |
||
|
UpdateInterval |
YES |
||
|
Inclinometer (HID Sensor Collection) |
TiltX |
YES |
|
|
TiltY |
YES |
||
|
TiltZ |
YES |
||
|
DistanceX |
no |
||
|
DistanceY |
no |
||
|
DistanceZ |
no |
||
|
HeadingX |
no |
||
|
HeadingY |
no |
||
|
HeadingZ |
no |
||
|
MagHeading |
no |
||
|
TrueHeading |
no |
||
|
CompTrueHeading |
no |
||
|
Location (Windows Location Provider) |
Authorized |
YES |
|
|
Accuracy |
YES(1) |
||
|
Distance |
YES(1) |
||
|
PowerConsumption |
no |
||
|
LocationChange |
YES |
||
|
Latitude |
YES(2) |
||
|
Longitude |
YES(2) |
||
|
ErrorRadius |
YES |
||
|
Altitude |
YES(1) |
||
|
Speed |
no |
||
|
TrueHeading |
no |
||
|
MagneticHeading |
no |
||
|
Address1 |
no |
||
|
Address2 |
no |
||
|
City |
no |
||
|
StateProvince |
no |
||
|
PostalCode |
no |
||
|
CountryRegion |
no |
||
|
Orientation (HID Sensor Collection) |
TiltX |
no |
|
|
TiltY |
no |
||
|
TiltZ |
no |
||
|
DistanceX |
no |
||
|
DistanceY |
no |
||
|
DistanceZ |
no |
||
|
HeadingX |
no |
||
|
HeadingY |
no |
||
|
HeadingZ |
no |
||
|
MagHeading |
no |
||
|
TrueHeading |
no |
||
|
CompTrueHeading |
no |
||
|
Orientation (Simple Device Sensor) |
TiltX |
no |
|
|
TiltY |
no |
||
|
TiltZ |
no |
||
|
DistanceX |
no |
||
|
DistanceY |
no |
||
|
DistanceZ |
no |
||
|
HeadingX |
no |
||
|
HeadingY |
no |
||
|
HeadingZ |
no |
||
|
MagHeading |
no |
||
|
TrueHeading |
no |
||
|
CompTrueHeading |
no |
Notes:
- Always returns zero therefore worthless.
- Based on IP address therefore worthless for geological applications.