Android Magnetometer calculate altitude

Question

Is it possible to get the altitude of my position using the Android magnetometer? If yes how can I calculate the altitude? As I understood I get from the Android API three coordinates x,y and z and the magnetic field strength in Tesla. I can transfer these coordinates into the Euler angles to determine the position, but I do not know if I can calculate the altitude. Does anybody know about that and is able to help me to figure out the altitude without using GPS?

Answer 1

There is a reason most devices use GPS (which already has horrible dilutiuon when it comes to altitude calculation) or even a barometric system to calculate their altitude : Magnetic measurements are terribly unstable and perceptive to interference from outside, not to mention that the planet does not have a completely uniform magnetic field, and that it runs lateral with the surface rather than in a straight angle with it.

If you managed to get a decent altitude reading with a magnetometer, i think you would be elligable for a prize in the fields of mathematics, physics and programming.