Thread: DIY digital compass: electronics experts needed!
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Otaku is offline Otaku
2009-10-31 , 04:02
Posts: 71 | Thanked: 34 times | Joined on Sep 2009
#74
Originally Posted by wickeddeus View Post
I don't know if this has been suggested yet but why not use the same digital compass that is currently in the Iphone 3GS (and all of the Android phones, I believe)? The unit is Asahi Kasei's AK8973S. From the specs I was able to pull from the internet, the chip-size packaging is 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.5 mm. I don't know if it is technically possible but someone might be able to fit it inside a microSD body (microSD being 15 mm × 11 mm × 1 mm). It might even be possible to make the card do double duty as a digital compass plus memory storage.
I suspect that the "someone" who would be able to pull this off would have to be a professional with access to specialized ($$$) soldering/etching equipment. Imagine trying for yourself to solder a 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.5 mm chip and associated support components, and etching a board that would fit inside a microSD body - it's not something most people are likely to be able to do in their homes.

Then even if someone could do this, that leaves the problem of how to enable to rest of the communty to do the same thing, to allow a compass-enabled N900 community to exist and encourage developers to make compass-aware apps. As was pointed out earlier in the thread, compass-aware apps like AR can't take off if the compass-enabled userbase doesn't exist.

If someone could get a good automated compass production process going, and was willing to sell the resulting compasses for a reasonable price, I suspect they would get a lot of business from N900 users. However, again I think that few people in the community have the resources to pull this off. I'm willing to be surprised, though.