Detect hard taps anywhere on iPhone through accelerometer

Question 1

Here is how i achieved it.

- (void)accelerometer:(UIAccelerometer *)accelerometer
        didAccelerate:(UIAcceleration *)acceleration
{
    if (pause)
    {
        return;
    }
    if (handModeOn == NO)
    {
        if(pocketFlag == NO)
            return;
    }

//  float accelZ = 0.0;
//  float accelX = 0.0;
//  float accelY = 0.0;

    rollingX = (acceleration.x * kFilteringFactor) + (rollingX * (1.0 - kFilteringFactor));
    rollingY = (acceleration.y * kFilteringFactor) + (rollingY * (1.0 - kFilteringFactor));
    rollingZ = (acceleration.z * kFilteringFactor) + (rollingZ * (1.0 - kFilteringFactor));

    float accelX = acceleration.x - rollingX;
    float accelY = acceleration.y - rollingY;
    float accelZ = acceleration.z - rollingZ;

    if((-accelZ >= [senstivity floatValue] && timerFlag) || (-accelZ <= -[senstivity floatValue] && timerFlag)|| (-accelX >= [senstivity floatValue] && timerFlag) || (-accelX <= -[senstivity floatValue] && timerFlag) || (-accelY >= [senstivity floatValue] && timerFlag) || (-accelY <= -[senstivity floatValue] && timerFlag))
    {
        timerFlag = false;
        addValueFlag = true;
        timer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:1.5 target:self selector:@selector(timerTick:) userInfo:nil repeats:YES];
    }

    if(addValueFlag)
    {
        [self.accArray addObject:[NSNumber numberWithFloat:-accelX]];
        [self.accArray addObject:[NSNumber numberWithFloat:-accelY]];
        [self.accArray addObject:[NSNumber numberWithFloat:-accelZ]];
    }
}

Question 2

You should apply a high pass filter to the accelerometer data. That will give you just the spikes in the signal - sharp taps.

I did a quick search on "UIAccelerometer high pass filter" and found several hits. The simplest code takes a rolling average of the accelerometer input, then subtracts that average from the instantaneous reading to find sudden changes. There are no doubt more sophisticated methods as well.

Once you have code that recognizes sharp taps, you'll need to craft code that detects 3 sharp taps in a row.

Question 3

This is, as suggested by another answer, all to do with filtering the taps from the stream of accelerometer data. The impulse-like tap's will have a characteristic spectrogram (combination of frequencies) that can be detected when the response from a proper filter is higher than a threshold.

This is a very common operation on iPhone, I would suggest you look at official documentation such as here

The sample code I have linked to gives you two important things: official example code for high-pass filter AND a sample app that will graph the accelerometer data. This you can use to visual your taps, steps and jumps, to better understand why your filter responds falsely.

Furthermore, the internet is a huge source of literature on filter design - if you need to make a very high quality filter, you may need to consult the literature. I think however that a suitable second order filter would likely be sufficient.

@implementation HighpassFilter

- (id)initWithSampleRate:(double)rate cutoffFrequency:(double)freq
{
    self = [super init];

    if (self != nil)
    {
        double dt = 1.0 / rate;
        double RC = 1.0 / freq;
        filterConstant = RC / (dt + RC);
    }

    return self;    
}

- (void)addAcceleration:(UIAcceleration *)accel
{
    double alpha = filterConstant;   

    if (adaptive)
    {
        double d = Clamp(fabs(Norm(x, y, z) - Norm(accel.x, accel.y, accel.z)) / kAccelerometerMinStep - 1.0, 0.0, 1.0);
        alpha = d * filterConstant / kAccelerometerNoiseAttenuation + (1.0 - d) * filterConstant;
    }

    x = alpha * (x + accel.x - lastX);
    y = alpha * (y + accel.y - lastY);
    z = alpha * (z + accel.z - lastZ);

    lastX = accel.x;
    lastY = accel.y;
    lastZ = accel.z;
}

- (NSString *)name
{
    return adaptive ? @"Adaptive Highpass Filter" : @"Highpass Filter";
}

@end

Importantly this filter is direction agnostic, since only the magnitude of the acceleration is filtered. This is crucial to make the response seem normal. Otherwise users may feel like the have to tap from different angles to find a sweetspot.

On another note, if this task is proving too difficult and fiddly, I strongly suggest capturing your data ( in a WAV file for example) and using one of any common signal anaylsing program to get a better idea of where it is going wrong. See Baudline

Question 4

Some good answers. Here's some working code. I implemented this as a subclass of UIGestureRecognizer so that you can just drop it in and attach it to a UIView or UIButton. Once triggered, it will have the "pressure" set to a float between 0.0f and 2.0f. You can optionally set the minimum and maximum pressures required to recognize. Enjoy.

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

#define CPBPressureNone         0.0f
#define CPBPressureLight        0.1f
#define CPBPressureMedium       0.3f
#define CPBPressureHard         0.8f
#define CPBPressureInfinite     2.0f

@interface CPBPressureTouchGestureRecognizer : UIGestureRecognizer <UIAccelerometerDelegate> {
@public
float pressure;
float minimumPressureRequired;
float maximumPressureRequired;

@private
float pressureValues[30];
uint currentPressureValueIndex;
uint setNextPressureValue;
}

@property (readonly, assign) float pressure;
@property (readwrite, assign) float minimumPressureRequired;
@property (readwrite, assign) float maximumPressureRequired;

@end


//
//  CPBPressureTouchGestureRecognizer.h
//  PressureSensitiveButton
//
//  Created by Anthony Picciano on 3/21/11.
//  Copyright 2011 Anthony Picciano. All rights reserved.
//
//  Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
//  modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
//  are met:
//  1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
//     notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
//  2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
//     notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
//     documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
//  
//  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR
//  IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
//  OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.
//  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
//  INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
//  NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
//  DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
//  THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
//  (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
//  THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
//

#import <UIKit/UIGestureRecognizerSubclass.h>
#import "CPBPressureTouchGestureRecognizer.h"

#define kUpdateFrequency            60.0f
#define KNumberOfPressureSamples    3

@interface CPBPressureTouchGestureRecognizer (private)
- (void)setup;
@end

@implementation CPBPressureTouchGestureRecognizer
@synthesize pressure, minimumPressureRequired, maximumPressureRequired;

 - (id)initWithTarget:(id)target action:(SEL)action {
self = [super initWithTarget:target action:action];
if (self != nil) {
   [self setup]; 
}
return self;
}

 - (id)init {
self = [super init];
if (self != nil) {
    [self setup];
}
return self;
}

- (void)setup {
minimumPressureRequired = CPBPressureNone;
maximumPressureRequired = CPBPressureInfinite;
pressure = CPBPressureNone;

[[UIAccelerometer sharedAccelerometer] setUpdateInterval:1.0f / kUpdateFrequency];
[[UIAccelerometer sharedAccelerometer] setDelegate:self];
}

#pragma -
#pragma UIAccelerometerDelegate methods

-(void)accelerometer:(UIAccelerometer *)accelerometer didAccelerate:(UIAcceleration *)acceleration {
int sz = (sizeof pressureValues) / (sizeof pressureValues[0]);

// set current pressure value
pressureValues[currentPressureValueIndex%sz] = acceleration.z;

if (setNextPressureValue > 0) {

    // calculate average pressure
    float total = 0.0f;
    for (int loop=0; loop<sz; loop++) total += pressureValues[loop]; 
    float average = total / sz;

    // start with most recent past pressure sample
    if (setNextPressureValue == KNumberOfPressureSamples) {
        float mostRecent = pressureValues[(currentPressureValueIndex-1)%sz];
        pressure = fabsf(average - mostRecent);
    }

    // caluculate pressure as difference between average and current acceleration
    float diff = fabsf(average - acceleration.z);
    if (pressure < diff) pressure = diff;
    setNextPressureValue--;

    if (setNextPressureValue == 0) {
        if (pressure >= minimumPressureRequired && pressure <= maximumPressureRequired)
            self.state = UIGestureRecognizerStateRecognized;
        else
            self.state = UIGestureRecognizerStateFailed;
    }
}

currentPressureValueIndex++;
 }

 #pragma -
 #pragma UIGestureRecognizer subclass methods

- (void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event {
setNextPressureValue = KNumberOfPressureSamples;
self.state = UIGestureRecognizerStatePossible;
}

- (void)touchesCancelled:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event {
self.state = UIGestureRecognizerStateFailed;
}

- (void)reset {
pressure = CPBPressureNone;
setNextPressureValue = 0;
currentPressureValueIndex = 0;
}

 @end