Smartphones as Smart Tools for Science and Engineering Laboratory: A Review

Abstract

This article reviews a decade of research in transforming smartphones into smart measurement tools for science and engineering laboratories. High-precision sensors have been effectively utilized with specific mobile applications to measure physical parameters. Linear, rotational, and vibrational motions can be tracked and studied using built-in accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, proximity sensors, or ambient light sensors, depending on each experiment design. Water and sound waves were respectively captured for analysis by smartphone cameras and microphones. Various optics experiments were successfully demonstrated by replacing traditional lux meters with built-in ambient light sensors. These smartphone-based measurements have increasingly been incorporated into high school and university laboratories. Such modernized science and engineering experimentations also provide a ubiquitous learning environment during the pandemic period.