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  Session: Exploring Physics Apps and Learning to Use Them
  Paper Type: Contributed
  Title: Measuring Vertical Velocities of Elevators Using Smartphone Pressure Sensors
  Meeting: 2018 Summer Meeting: Washington, DC
  Location: N/A
  Date:
  Time: 8:30AM
  Author: Arturo C. Marti,, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay
97223639, marti@fisica.edu.uy
  Co-Author(s): Marti Monteiro,
  Abstract: We propose an experiment to measure the vertical velocities of elevators, pedestrians climbing stairs, and UAV by means of smartphone pressure sensors. Using an approximation valid in the first hundred meters of the atmosphere, the altitude and vertical velocities are obtained. After performing a numerical integration, we compare our results with those obtained with the built-in accelerometer. We show that data obtained using the pressure sensor is significantly less noisy than that obtained using the accelerometer. Error accumulation is also evident in the numerical integration of the acceleration values. The pressure sensor also outperforms GPS which does not receive satellite signals indoors and the operating frequency is considerably lower than that of the pressure sensor. Comparison with reference values taken from the architectural plans validates the results obtained using the pressure sensor. This proposal is ideally performed as an external or outreach activity with students. Phys. Educ. 52 (2017) 015010
  Footnotes: None
  Presentation: AAPTsm18-oralv2.pdf

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