SetupAnimationForHT

Saves the configuration required by Animation for Head-Tracking series of apps.

The four main functions of this app are:

1. To offset any gyroscope drift or zero-out the offsets if drifting stops.

2. To set the configuration in either a Cell mode or Tab mode.

3. To provide a message of how much memory heap-space is available on the device.

4. To give messages of any errors that may prevent apps from running.

A saved configuration is required to run any of Animation for HeadTracking series of apps. The "Save" button will be displayed as green if a configuration was ever saved before on the device, and black if not. Hardware vendors that did pre-installations may or may not have done an adequate setup, so run this app to verify.

1. Offsetting Drift:

The device drivers for the gyroscopes should be taking into account any interference coming from within the devices. There is currently no uniform way to do sensor-fusion across all Android devices, so this Setup app may have be to used on a occasional basis to offset the drift. Place the device in a stationary position and launch the app. Refer to developer website for examples of mounting the device. If the objects remain centered without moving for at least a minute then skip ahead to step 2. If the there is drifting of the gyroscopes it is likely they will drift at different rates. Just offset the drift of one at a time using the right and left arrows to keep the diamond-shaped indicators close the the centerline. If the offset starts moving in the opposite direction than it originated, then lower the magnitude of the offset from 0.1 to 0.01 (making that button green) and recenter by hitting the arrow upto 9 times in the other direction. The same method can be used for more fine-tuning at 0.001 if drift is noticible during some of the longer animations. At those times when drifting all of sudden stops, it will appear that the previous drift offsets are no longer working. In that case select the Zero button to zero-out the existing offsets. Sometimes it can take a few times going back and forth between the Setup app and an animation app to offset the drift just right, so test with one of the animations with a slower tempo like Rings, Baskets, Flowers, LilyPonds, or Tipis. In the case that the drifting starts only while the music is playing, the offsets should be set to create drift in the opposite direction than it drifted when the music was playing.

2. Setting Cell or Tab Mode:

There are two most likely configurations of gyroscopes found in Android devices, hence "Cell" mode or "Tab" mode. Since there is no sure way for an application to determine the configuration of borderline devices, it must be set manually using this app. When the app is first run it will default to the Cell mode (where the Cell button is green). To test if the mode is correct, tilt (Pitch) the device as if one is looking up or down and the objects should stay straight ahead on the horizon. Then point the device to the left and right (Yaw) and the objects should stay straight ahead. Note that turning the device like a steering-wheel (Roll) is the same for both Cell mode and Tab mode, so the objects should stay level, as if standing on solid ground.

3. Memory Requirements

The following should no longer be necessary for Android systems 4.1 and above. Take note of the message for the memory heap-space available on the device then check the amount required here:

Baskets: 10-15 MB

Beads: 16-20 MB

Blankets: 10-15 MB

Blossoms: 19-25 MB

Brocades: 18-24 MB

Carpets: 46-53 MB

Creatures: 39-45 MB

Flowers: 24-31 MB

Helix: 12-18 MB

Landscapes: 20-27 MB

Leaves: ~62 MB

LilyPonds: 12-19 MB

Rings: 14-20 MB

Textures: 11-18 MB

Tipis: 14-21 MB

Vines: 29-36 MB

A memory range is given on the Google Play Store descriptions because Android systems 3.0 and up require more than previous system versions.

4. Error Messages

Check for error messages that prevent apps from running.