Magnetometer

Description

The magnetometer is used to measure magnetic flux density. This is the total magnetic field passing through a given area, per metre squared, $\frac{T \cdot m^2}{m^2}$ . The sensor will returns values with units of microtesla $\mu T$ for each of the three coordinate axes; x, y and, z. The magnetic flux density is quite similar to magnetic field strength.

Adding a Magnetometer to your app

To add a Magnetometer to your app:

1. Navigate to the Blocks tab of your project.

2. Under the App Features heading, locate Sensors.

3. Click the ⊕ symbol next to Sensor.

4. Select Magnetometer from the provided menu.

5. Click Add.

You will see a settings panel where you can set:

• The Name of the Magnetometer

• Whether the Magnetometer is Enabled

You can either confirm your choices and create the Magnetometer, or delete the Magnetometer.

Change Settings of Magnetometer

‌You will see the sensors you have added to your app underneath the Sensors section of your blocks.

If you click on the ⚙ icon next to your Magnetometer, you will be able to edit its settings as seen in the panels above. You can click on your Magnetometer's name to access its drawer of blocks.‌

Properties

Property	Description	Data Type
Enabled	Toggle whether the component is functioning in your app	True/False

Blocks

Events

When Magnetometer Changes

When the magnetometer detects a change in the ambient magnetic field the Changes event will fire. The event returns 4 parameters that we can work with.

Parameter	Type	Returns
xFluxDensity	Number	Flux density, in the x direction, expressed in $\mu T$
yFluxDensity	Number	Flux density, in the y direction, expressed in $\mu T$
zFluxDensity	Number	Flux density, in the z direction, expressed in $\mu T$
error	String	Error message from the Sensor

Functions

Call X

Returns flux density, in the x direction, expressed in $\mu T$

Call Y

Returns flux density, in the y direction, expressed in $\mu T$

Call Z

Returns flux density, in the x direction, expressed in $\mu T$

Call Heading

Returns a value between 0 and 360 which denotes the user's direction relative to the Earth's geographic North Pole

Properties

Enabled

The magnetometer is, by default, turned on, but the enabled property can be used to turn in on and off by setting it to true or false respectively.

Property	Type	Default
set Enabled	Bool	true
get Enabled	Bool