Help with taming Accelerometers

Hi all,

I've just posted a query about LEDs in another part of the forum, but I'm new around here so hopefully forgiven for asking another (different) question here...

I have an Adafruit Circuit Playground Classic and I am using the three axis accelerometer to control parameters within MaxMSP (or I'm trying to...)

At the moment, all three axis give me +/- numerical data, but I want to confine this to a specific range, and when the sensors are giving off data outside of that range, it is fixed to the high/low of the range. For example: A range of 0.1 - 10, whereby any measurement below 0.1 is fixed at 0.1, and anything above 10 is fixed at 10, until the sensor starts generating data within the aforementioned range.

I've found some example code from Adafruit which scales the data for use as a mouse, but in trying to remove the mouse functionality, I thought my laptop was going to explode, such were the number of error messages!

Code below for info. The second code is long and as I say, I'm just trying to replicate the scaling bit, without any of the mouse functionality.

Three Axis Accelerometer/Taps:

#include <Adafruit_CircuitPlayground.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <SPI.h>

float X, Y, Z;

#define CLICKTHRESHHOLD 80

void setup(void) {
  while (!Serial);
  
  Serial.begin(9600);
  CircuitPlayground.begin();
  CircuitPlayground.setAccelRange(LIS3DH_RANGE_8_G);   //(2/4/8/16)
  CircuitPlayground.setAccelTap(1, CLICKTHRESHHOLD);
  attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(CPLAY_LIS3DH_INTERRUPT), tapTime, FALLING);
}

void tapTime(void) {
  // do something :)
   Serial.print(" High ");
   Serial.println(" "); 
}

void loop() {
  X = CircuitPlayground.motionX();
  Y = CircuitPlayground.motionY();
  Z = CircuitPlayground.motionZ();


  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(X);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(Y);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.println(Z);



  delay(100);

Adafruit AccelMouse Example code

#include <Adafruit_CircuitPlayground.h>
#include <Mouse.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <SPI.h>


// Configuration values to adjust the sensitivity and speed of the mouse.
// X axis (left/right) configuration:
#define XACCEL_MIN 0.1      // Minimum range of X axis acceleration, values below
                            // this won't move the mouse at all.
#define XACCEL_MAX 8.0      // Maximum range of X axis acceleration, values above
                            // this will move the mouse as fast as possible.
#define XMOUSE_RANGE 25.0   // Range of velocity for mouse movements.  The higher
                            // this value the faster the mouse will move.
#define XMOUSE_SCALE 1      // Scaling value to apply to mouse movement, this is
                            // useful to set to -1 to flip the X axis movement.

// Y axis (up/down) configuration:
// Note that the meaning of these values is exactly the same as the X axis above,
// just applied to the Y axis and up/down mouse movement.  You probably want to
// keep these values the same as for the X axis (which is the default, they just
// read the X axis values but you can override with custom values).
#define YACCEL_MIN XACCEL_MIN
#define YACCEL_MAX XACCEL_MAX
#define YMOUSE_RANGE XMOUSE_RANGE
#define YMOUSE_SCALE 1

// Set this true to flip the mouse X/Y axis with the board X/Y axis (what you want
// if holding with USB cable facing up).
#define FLIP_AXES true


// Floating point linear interpolation function that takes a value inside one
// range and maps it to a new value inside another range.  This is used to transform
// each axis of acceleration to mouse velocity/speed. See this page for details
// on the equation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_interpolation
float lerp(float x, float x0, float x1, float y0, float y1) {
  // Check if the input value (x) is outside its desired range and clamp to
  // those min/max y values.
  if (x <= x0) {
    return y0;
  }
  else if (x >= x1) {
    return y1;
  }
  // Otherwise compute the value y based on x's position within its range and
  // the desired y min & max.
  return y0 + (y1-y0)*((x-x0)/(x1-x0));
}


void setup() {
  // Initialize Circuit Playground library.
  CircuitPlayground.begin();
  // Initialize Arduino mouse library.
  Mouse.begin();
}

void loop() {
  // Check if the slide switch is enabled (on +) and if not then just exit out
  // and run the loop again.  This lets you turn on/off the mouse movement with
  // the slide switch.
  if (!CircuitPlayground.slideSwitch()) {
    return;
  }

  // Grab initial left & right button states to later check if they are pressed
  // or released.  Do this early in the loop so other processing can take some
  // time and the button state change can be detected.
  boolean left_first = CircuitPlayground.leftButton();
  boolean right_first = CircuitPlayground.rightButton();

  // Grab x, y acceleration values (in m/s^2).
  float x = CircuitPlayground.motionX();
  float y = CircuitPlayground.motionY();
  // Use the magnitude of acceleration to interpolate the mouse velocity.
  float x_mag = abs(x);
  float x_mouse = lerp(x_mag, XACCEL_MIN, XACCEL_MAX, 0.0, XMOUSE_RANGE);
  float y_mag = abs(y);
  float y_mouse = lerp(y_mag, YACCEL_MIN, YACCEL_MAX, 0.0, YMOUSE_RANGE);
  // Change the mouse direction based on the direction of the acceleration.
  if (x < 0) {
    x_mouse *= -1.0;
  }
  if (y < 0) {
    y_mouse *= -1.0;
  }
  // Apply any global scaling to the axis (to flip it for example) and truncate
  // to an integer value.
  x_mouse = floor(x_mouse*XMOUSE_SCALE);
  y_mouse = floor(y_mouse*YMOUSE_SCALE);

  // Move mouse.
  if (!FLIP_AXES) {
    // Non-flipped axes, just map board X/Y to mouse X/Y.
    Mouse.move((int)x_mouse, (int)y_mouse, 0);
  }
  else {
    // Flipped axes, swap them around.
    Mouse.move((int)y_mouse, (int)x_mouse, 0);
  }

  // Small delay to wait for button state changes and slow down processing a bit.
  delay(10);

  // Grab a second button state reading to check if the buttons were pressed or
  // released.
  boolean left_second = CircuitPlayground.leftButton();
  boolean right_second = CircuitPlayground.rightButton();

  // Check for left button pressed / released.
  if (!left_first && left_second) {
    // Low then high, button was pressed!
    Mouse.press(MOUSE_LEFT);
  }
  else if (left_first && !left_second) {
    // High then low, button was released!
    Mouse.release(MOUSE_LEFT);
  }
  // Check for right button pressed / released.
  if (!right_first && right_second) {
    // Low then high, button was pressed!
    Mouse.press(MOUSE_RIGHT);
  }
  else if (right_first && !right_second) {
    // High then low, button was released!
    Mouse.release(MOUSE_RIGHT);
  }
}

A range of 0.1 - 10, whereby any measurement below 0.1 is fixed at 0.1, and anything above 10 is fixed at 10, until the sensor starts generating data within the aforementioned range.

if (measurement < 0.1) measurement = 0.1;
if (measurement > 10.0) measurement = 10.0;

I've had a play with that but I'm struggling to make it work, or alter my code to include it. Any chance you could help me out with where I should be placing that, and if I need to create an additional definition to accommodate it?

Since you posted two blocks of code, it is not at all clear what "measurement" you are talking about. If it is the first program posted, post some examples of the output.

Basically, wherever you make a measurement, modify that measurement by including two lines similar to those in reply #1.

Yep, fair point - I've not made it easier in uploading both sketches.

I've re-uploaded the one I'm using currently, along with a shot of the serial monitor. There is some other stuff going on in there, but the section which relates to the accelerometers is near the top. At the moment, they're just using 'Serial.print', and I think that maybe where I am getting stuck with trying to incorporate your suggestion - I'm sure its the way I should be doing it, but I've not defined any measurements as such...

#include <Adafruit_CircuitPlayground.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <SPI.h>
#include <math.h>

float X, Y, Z; // Accelerometers.
#define CLICKTHRESHHOLD 80 // Tap Threshold
#define MIC_PIN         A4  // Microphone is attached to this analog pin (A4 for circuit playground)
#define SAMPLE_WINDOW   10  // Sample window for average level
#define PEAK_HANG       24  // Time of pause before peak dot falls
#define PEAK_FALL        4  // Rate of falling peak dot
#define INPUT_FLOOR     10  // Lower range of analogRead input
#define INPUT_CEILING  500  // Max range of analogRead input, the lower the value the more sensitive (1023 = max)



byte peak = 16;        // Peak level of column; used for falling dots
unsigned int sample;
byte dotCount = 0;     //Frame counter for peak dot
byte dotHangCount = 0; //Frame counter for holding peak dot

float fscale(float originalMin, float originalMax, float newBegin, float newEnd, float inputValue, float curve);

void setup(void) {
  while (!Serial);
  
  Serial.begin(9600);
  CircuitPlayground.begin();
  
  CircuitPlayground.setAccelRange(LIS3DH_RANGE_8_G);   // TAPS (2/4/8/16)
  CircuitPlayground.setAccelTap(1, CLICKTHRESHHOLD);
  attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(CPLAY_LIS3DH_INTERRUPT), tapTime, FALLING);
}

void tapTime(void) {
  // do something :)
   Serial.print(" High ");
   Serial.println(" "); 
}

void loop() {

  X = CircuitPlayground.motionX();
  Y = CircuitPlayground.motionY();
  Z = CircuitPlayground.motionZ();

  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(X);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(Y);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.println(Z);

  

    delay(100);
  
  int numPixels = CircuitPlayground.strip.numPixels();
  unsigned long startMillis= millis();  // Start of sample window
  float peakToPeak = 0;   // peak-to-peak level

  unsigned int signalMax = 0;
  unsigned int signalMin = 1023;
  unsigned int c, y;

  // collect data for length of sample window (in mS)
  while (millis() - startMillis < SAMPLE_WINDOW)
  {
    sample = analogRead(MIC_PIN);
    if (sample < 1024)  // toss out spurious readings
    {
      if (sample > signalMax)
      {
        signalMax = sample;  // save just the max levels
      }
      else if (sample < signalMin)
      {
        signalMin = sample;  // save just the min levels
      }
    }
  }
  peakToPeak = signalMax - signalMin;  // max - min = peak-peak amplitude
 
  // Serial.println(peakToPeak);

  //Fill the strip with rainbow gradient
  for (int i=0;i<=numPixels-1;i++){
    CircuitPlayground.strip.setPixelColor(i,Wheel(map(i,0,numPixels-1,30,150)));
  }

  //Scale the input logarithmically instead of linearly
  c = fscale(INPUT_FLOOR, INPUT_CEILING, numPixels, 0, peakToPeak, 2);

  // Turn off pixels that are below volume threshold.
  if(c < peak) {
    peak = c;        // Keep dot on top
    dotHangCount = 0;    // make the dot hang before falling
  }
  if (c <= numPixels) { // Fill partial column with off pixels
    drawLine(numPixels, numPixels-c, CircuitPlayground.strip.Color(0, 0, 0));
  }

  // Set the peak dot to match the rainbow gradient
  y = numPixels - peak;
  CircuitPlayground.strip.setPixelColor(y-1,Wheel(map(y,0,numPixels-1,30,150)));
  CircuitPlayground.strip.show();

  // Frame based peak dot animation
  if(dotHangCount > PEAK_HANG) { //Peak pause length
    if(++dotCount >= PEAK_FALL) { //Fall rate 
      peak++;
      dotCount = 0;
    }
  } 
  else {
    dotHangCount++; 
  }
}

//Used to draw a line between two points of a given color
void drawLine(uint8_t from, uint8_t to, uint32_t c) {
  uint8_t fromTemp;
  if (from > to) {
    fromTemp = from;
    from = to;
    to = fromTemp;
  }
  for(int i=from; i<=to; i++){
    CircuitPlayground.strip.setPixelColor(i, c);
  }
}


float fscale( float originalMin, float originalMax, float newBegin, float
newEnd, float inputValue, float curve){

  float OriginalRange = 0;
  float NewRange = 0;
  float zeroRefCurVal = 0;
  float normalizedCurVal = 0;
  float rangedValue = 0;
  boolean invFlag = 0;


  // condition curve parameter
  // limit range

  if (curve > 10) curve = 10;
  if (curve < -10) curve = -10;

  curve = (curve * -.1) ; // -  
  curve = pow(10, curve); // 

  
  // Check for out of range inputValues
  if (inputValue < originalMin) {
    inputValue = originalMin;
  }
  if (inputValue > originalMax) {
    inputValue = originalMax;
  }

  // Zero Refference the values
  OriginalRange = originalMax - originalMin;

  if (newEnd > newBegin){ 
    NewRange = newEnd - newBegin;
  }
  else
  {
    NewRange = newBegin - newEnd; 
    invFlag = 1;
  }
  zeroRefCurVal = inputValue - originalMin;
  normalizedCurVal  =  zeroRefCurVal / OriginalRange;   // normalize to 0 - 1 float

  // Check for originalMin > originalMax  - the math for all other cases i.e. negative numbers seems to work out fine 
  if (originalMin > originalMax ) {
    return 0;
  }
  if (invFlag == 0){
    rangedValue =  (pow(normalizedCurVal, curve) * NewRange) + newBegin;
  }
  else     // invert the ranges
  {   
    rangedValue =  newBegin - (pow(normalizedCurVal, curve) * NewRange); 
  }
  return rangedValue;
}

uint32_t Wheel(byte WheelPos) {
  if(WheelPos < 85) {
    return CircuitPlayground.strip.Color(WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3, 0);
  } 
  else if(WheelPos < 170) {
    WheelPos -= 85;
    return CircuitPlayground.strip.Color(255 - WheelPos * 3, 0, WheelPos * 3);
  } 
  else {
    WheelPos -= 170;
    return CircuitPlayground.strip.Color(0, WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3);
  }


}

So now you have a third program.

If this post is about accelerometers, why are you including the junk reading a microphone?

    sample = analogRead(MIC_PIN);

Work on just one thing at a time.

Make sure you understand how to read the accelerometer and how to interpret those readings, before adding anything else to the code.

Now resolved thanks all.