An accelerometer is an electrical component used to measure acceleration and movement. Such movement may be stationary, or, as is the case with a GPS or mobile devices, in motion, and sense movement or vibrations.
When you use a compass app on your smartphone, it somehow knows which direction the phone is pointing. With stargazing apps, it somehow knows where in the sky you’re looking to properly display constellations. GPS, Smartphones and other mobile technology identify their orientation through the use of an accelerator, a small device made up of axis-based motion sensing.
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