Firefly Ice: Timing Demo

Using more than one Firefly Ice device opens up a number of interesting possibilities. The Firefly Utility has a new page to start exploring using more than one device: Timing. The timing demo shows the timing between events on two different Firefly Ice devices. This is a very simple demo and not a useful application, however it is a nice starting point to exploration.

To find the timing between two events, we need to define what an "event" is. For the demo there is a very simple definition. An event is a motion of 2g or more. It is easy to create this event by holding the Firefly Ice in your hand and giving it a hard single shake. When the Firefly Ice recognizes an event it will automatically save the raw sensor data for a few seconds before and after the event. This raw sensor data can then be synced to an app for offline analysis.

For the timing demo you will give the first Firefly Ice a hard single shake and then give the second Firefly Ice a hard single shake. Then you will sync the data from the devices to see a display of the events and the timing between them.

Requirements

To try out the timing demo you will need:

1) Two Firefly Ice devices.

2) FireflyUtility app 1.1 (8) (or newer).

3) Firefly Ice device firmware revision 1.0.47 (or newer).

Try It

Here are the actual steps to try out the timing demo:

1) Connect to the first device. Go the the "Time" tab and touch "Set Time". Go to the "Timing" tab, turn on "Event Recognition". Do not disconnect.

2) Connect to the second device. Go the the "Time" tab and touch "Set Time". Go to the "Timing" tab, turn on "Event Recognition". Do not disconnect. Stay on the "Timing" tab.

3) Sharply shake the first device once to generate the first event. (The shake must cause a 2G acceleration to be recognized as an event.)

4) Sharply shake the second device once to generate the second event. (The tap must cause a 2G acceleration to be recognized as an event.)

5) Touch "Sync" (you should still be on the "Timing" tab.) After the sync completes you should see the event waveforms. There will be a transition arrow from one to the other showing the interval between the events. The timing will be shown in text in the center of the transition arrow.