How can I get a sensor's name?

Question

I want to programatically get a Sensor's name. Say the name of the ambient light sensor.

How can I get its name?

Answer 1

First you have to obtain an instance of the SensorManager, then get the desired service instance from the manager.

String sm = Context.SENSOR_SERVICE;
SensorManager sensorManager = (SensorManager) getSystemService(sm);

/*
 * We get the light sensor in this example.
 */
Sensor someSensor = sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_LIGHT);

/*
 * Always perform a null check on sensors since your device
 * may not have that sensor.
 */
if (null != someSensor) {
    String sensorName = someSensor.getName();
}

You get the name using the Sensor's getName() method.

Answer 2

Use the sensor manager to query (all or certain types of) available sensors. Then use Sensor.getName() to get the name of an individual sensor.

SensorManager sm = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
List<Sensor> list = sm.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ALL);

for(Sensor s : list) {
    Log.d("SENSORS", s.getName());
}

Example output from the snippet above:

11-14 12:26:47.549: D/SENSORS(911): BMA150 3-axis Accelerometer
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): AK8973 3-axis Magnetic field sensor
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): AK8973 Orientation sensor
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): CM3602 Proximity sensor
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): CM3602 Light sensor
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): Gravity Sensor
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): Linear Acceleration Sensor
11-14 12:26:47.559: D/SENSORS(911): Rotation Vector Sensor

Answer 3

With the getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ALL) you can get all the sensors within the device.

SensorManager sensorManager
    = (SensorManager)getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
sensorManager.getSensorList(Sensor.TYPE_ALL);