Does having a gyroscope affect PhotoSynth?

WP Central

When PhotoSynth for Windows Telephone 7 hit the market last week, we knew there would be discussions over the requirement of a gyroscope - and there was.

When users try download the app with a telephone that doesn't have a gyroscope, they are presented with an fault that reads "Some features in this application might not work because your phone doesn't have..gyroscope" - this does not cease the download though. Users of whatsoever 1st gen Windows Phone (HD7, Focus, Omnia 7, Trophy etc) volition go this message, along with any users of a 2nd gen phone that is missing the gyroscope (virtually notably the Nokia Lumia 710 and 800). We don't know why the 710 and 800 do non accept a gyro, merely it may accept simply come down to a cost-benefit decision, every bit the flagship 900 does accept one. So what does a gryo practice, and practice you really need one? Read on to find out.

Most people confuse the accelerometer and gyroscope. Every Windows Phone, new and old, has an accelerometer. Merely only newer devices have a gyro. The Windows Phone 7 API has officially supported accelerometers since launch, but gyro support merely came with Mango.

Without getting technical, the easiest mode to explain the divergence between these ii is by example...

Imagine y'all are on a see-saw continuing in the center bullheaded folded. As your boyish friends bounce up and downwardly you lot will be able to tell what angle you lot are at, even though you lot tin can't see. This is not dissimilar an accelerometer - which measures the gravitational forces in event on the device, and from that can determine what angle the device is at in relation to the ground. At present, hold your telephone flat in your outstretched hands, and without tilting the telephone, spin around on your toes. Now what you lot just did (besides embarrass yourself) would not take been picked up by an accelerometer. That'due south considering an accelerometer can only tell yous at what angle the telephone is, simply non if it's moving or not. So for the device to determine which mode you spun around and if you are moving, it needs a gyro. Information technology is the combination of these 2 types of motion/movements that PhotoSynth needs to determine where you lot are facing.

Then by that logic, for PhotoSynth to work you would Accept to have a gyro. Well, non exactly. Microsoft has given developers a fancy 'Motion' API which will combine the readings from the accelerometer, compass (not mentioned above, simply included in most WP7's), and gyroscope and return very easy to use data about the phone'southward motility. It even goes and so far as to compensate for the lack of a gyroscope by combining the other two values as all-time information technology can when a gyro is not present. And it turns out that their bounty works pretty well!

How well does it actually piece of work in the existent world? To observe this out, we did a agglomeration of tests with two devices adjacent, and compared the result. Nosotros used a Nokia Lumia 800 that does non have a gyro versus a Samsung Focus Flash, which does accept 1. Subsequently a number of trials we adamant that there really isn't much difference at all, and recorded a video to testify it. At present, in the video y'all will notice that the Focus Flash occasionally complains about needing to be calibrated. This continued later calibrating, and even when testing with another Focus Wink. Yet, the trouble only occurred when shooting the video, presumably because of some interference from the Lumia, merely did not effect the results.

Something else to note near the video is that nosotros purposefully did not move effectually smoothly and slowly in order to give a combination of a real world test, and to try misfile the phones. When you are making your own, you lot results will vary, and it is definitely best to use some form of tripod. For more realistic results, be sure to check out George's not bad review of the app.

And hither are the results from the ii devices, with the Nokia Lumia 800 starting time:

and the Samsung Focus Flash:

So what have we learned?

Don't endeavour make panoramas with two phones side by side to each other, in a very scientific enclosure made with cardboard and excessive amounts of duct-tape. They will fight, plus for some reason looking too far up only produced a red square in the viewfinder.
Use a tripod to keep a common indicate of origin, and effort avert scenes with varying light atmospheric condition - this mainly tripped the Lumia up in the tests above, but previous times the Wink suffered from the same.
And finally: Having a gyro makes VERY Trivial real-earth departure. Instead of worrying about that, rather practice making panoramas!

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