Sensors and data sources

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This section provides an overview of how the Maps Android SDK integrates with various sensors and external data sources to enhance map functionality and interactivity. From GPS and compass data to accelerometer readings and custom telemetry inputs, the SDK is designed to support a wide range of sensor-driven scenarios.

You'll learn how to access and configure these inputs, how the SDK responds to real-time changes, and how to incorporate your own data streams into the mapping experience. Whether you're building navigation apps, augmented reality layers, or location-aware services, this section will guide you through the sensor and data integration process.

Sensor types

The supported sensor data types can be summarized in the following table:

Type	Description
Acceleration	Measures linear movement of the device in three-dimensional space. Useful for detecting motion, steps, or sudden changes in speed.
Activity	Represents user activity such as walking, running, or being stationary, typically inferred from motion data. Only available on Android devices.
Attitude	Describes the orientation of the device in 3D space, often expressed as Euler angles or quaternions.
Battery	Provides battery status information such as charge level and power state.
Camera	Indicates data coming from or triggered by the device's camera, such as frames or detection events.
Compass	Gives directional heading relative to magnetic or true north using magnetometer data.
Magnetic Field	Reports raw magnetic field strength, useful for environmental sensing or heading correction.
Orientation	Combines multiple sensors (like accelerometer and magnetometer) to calculate absolute device orientation.
Position	Basic geographic position data, including latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude.
Improved Position	Enhanced position data that has been refined using filtering, correction services, or sensor fusion.
Gyroscope	Measures the rate of rotation around the device's axes, used to detect turns and angular movement.
Temperature	Provides temperature readings, either ambient or internal device temperature.
Notification	Represents external or system-level events that are not tied to physical sensors.
Mount Information	Describes how the device is physically mounted or oriented within a fixed system, such as in a vehicle.
Heart Rate	Biometric data representing beats per minute, typically from a fitness or health sensor.
NMEA Chunk	Raw navigation data in NMEA sentence format, typically from GNSS receivers for high-precision tracking. Only available on Android devices.
Unknown	A fallback type used when the source of the data cannot be determined.

More details about the PositionData and ImprovedPositionData classes are available here.

danger

When using EDataType values, ensure that the specific types are supported on the target platform. Attempting to create data sources or recordings with unsupported types may result in failures.

Working with data sources

A simplified view of the main classes used to work with data sources can be seen in the following diagram:

DataSource

There are multiple possible data types, represented by the EDataType enum. Each sensor value is stored in a class that is derived from SenseData. Two such classes are PositionData and AccelerationData.

If you want to create objects of these types, helper methods are provided in the companion objects of these classes. For example, PositionData.produce() and AccelerationData.produce() can create custom sensor data. In principle, this will only be necessary if you want to create a custom data source that will be fed with custom data.

You can create a DataSource by using one of the static methods in DataSourceFactory:

• DataSourceFactory.produceLive(): Creates a data source that collects data from the device's built-in sensors in real time. This is the most common use case for applications relying on actual sensor input.
• DataSourceFactory.produceExternal(availableDataTypes): Creates a custom data source that accepts user-supplied data. You can feed data into this source via the pushData method.
• DataSourceFactory.produceLog(path): Creates a data source that replays data from a previously recorded session (log file: gpx, nmea). This is useful for debugging, training, or offline data processing. See the Recorder docs for information about recording data.
• DataSourceFactory.produceSimulation(route): Creates a data source that simulates movement along a specified route. It can be used for UI prototyping, testing, or feature validation without relying on real-world movement.

The first two types (live and external) are categorized under EDataSourceType.Live, whereas the latter two (log and simulation) fall under EDataSourceType.Playback.

info

By default, a data source starts automatically upon creation. However, it's possible that it hasn't fully initialized by the time you obtain the data source object.

If you add a DataSourceListener immediately after acquiring the data source, there's a chance you'll miss the initial "playing status changed" notification that indicates the data source has started - since it may already be in the started state when the listener is attached.

Configuring and Controlling a Data Source

Once created, a data source can be stopped or started using the appropriate control methods:

Kotlin

dataSource.stop()
// ...
dataSource.start()

Java

dataSource.stop();
// ...
dataSource.start();

You can also configure a data source's behavior using methods like:

• setPreferences(): to set the sampling rate or data filtering behavior.
• setMockData(): to simulate sensor updates.

danger

The setMockData() method is only available for live data sources and supports only the EDataType.Position type. To mock other data types, use an external DataSource.

Using DataSourceListener

To receive updates from a data source, you can register a DataSourceListener. This listener allows you to react to various events such as:

• Changes in the playing status of the data source.
• Interruptions in data flow (e.g., sensor stopped, app went to background, etc.).
• New sensor data becoming available.
• Progress updates during playback.

You can create a listener using the create factory method and pass the appropriate callbacks:

Kotlin

val listener = DataSourceListener.create(
    onPlayingStatusChanged = { dataType, status ->
        println("Status for $dataType changed to $status")
    },
    onDataInterruptionEvent = { dataType, reason, ended ->
        println("Data interruption on $dataType: $reason. Ended: $ended")
    },
    onNewData = { data ->
        println("New data received: $data")
    },
    onProgressChanged = { progress ->
        println("Playback progress: $progress ms")
    }
)

Java

DataSourceListener listener = DataSourceListener.create(
    (dataType, status) -> {
        System.out.println("Status for " + dataType + " changed to " + status);
    },
    (dataType, reason, ended) -> {
        System.out.println("Data interruption on " + dataType + ": " + reason + ". Ended: " + ended);
    },
    (data) -> {
        System.out.println("New data received: " + data);
    },
    (progress) -> {
        System.out.println("Playback progress: " + progress + " ms");
    }
);

Once created, this listener can be registered with a DataSource, for a specific EDataType (in this case the position):

Kotlin

dataSource.addListener(listener, EDataType.Position)

Java

dataSource.addListener(listener, EDataType.Position);

Later, you can remove the listener when it's no longer needed:

Kotlin

dataSource.removeListener(listener, EDataType.Position)

Java

dataSource.removeListener(listener, EDataType.Position);

Using the Playback interface

The Playback interface allows you to control data sources that support playback functionality - specifically those of type EDataSourceType.Playback, such as log files or simulated route replays. It is not compatible with live or custom data sources.

To access a Playback instance, you can check the type of the data source and retrieve it accordingly:

Kotlin

if (dataSource.dataSourceType == EDataSourceType.Playback) {
    val playback = dataSource.playback

    playback?.pause()
    // ...
    playback?.resume()
}

Java

if (dataSource.getDataSourceType() == EDataSourceType.Playback) {
    Playback playback = dataSource.getPlayback();

    if (playback != null) {
        playback.pause();
        // ...
        playback.resume();
    }
}

As shown above, playback-enabled data sources can be paused and resumed. Additionally, you can adjust the playback speed by setting a speedMultiplier, which must fall within the range defined by playback.minSpeedMultiplier and playback.maxSpeedMultiplier.

To control playback position, use playback.currentPosition, which represents the elapsed time in milliseconds from the beginning of the log or simulation. This allows you to skip to any point in the playback.

Tracking positions

Positions from a DataSource can be tracked on a map by rendering a marker polyline between relevant map points. This is done by using the MapView methods directly.

Tracked path

The following code illustrates the functionality shown in the screenshot above.

Kotlin

SdkCall.execute {
    mapView.startTrackPositions(
        updatePositionMs = 500,
        settings = MarkerCollectionRenderSettings(
            polylineInnerColor = Rgba(255, 0, 0, 255),
            polylineOuterColor = Rgba(255, 255, 0, 255)
        ),
        dataSource = dataSource
    )

    // other code ...

    mapView.stopTrackPositions()
}

Java

SdkCall.execute(() -> {
    mapView.startTrackPositions(
        500,
        new MarkerCollectionRenderSettings(
            new Rgba(255, 0, 0, 255),
            new Rgba(255, 255, 0, 255)
        ),
        dataSource
    );

    // other code ...

    mapView.stopTrackPositions();
});

Method	Parameters	Return type
startTrackPositions	- updatePositionMs: The tracked position collection update frequency in milliseconds. High frequency may decrease rendering performance on low-end devices - settings: The markers collection rendering settings in the map view - dataSource: The DataSource object whose positions are tracked	GemError
stopTrackPositions		GemError
isTrackedPositions		Boolean
getTrackedPositions		Pair<ArrayList<Coordinates>?, GemError>

info

If the dataSource parameter is left null, tracking will use the current DataSource set in PositionService. If no DataSource is set in PositionService, GemError.NotFound will be returned.

Getting tracked positions

After calling MapView.startTrackPositions(), you can retrieve the tracked positions later using the getTrackedPositions() method. This method returns a pair containing a list of Coordinates and a GemError that indicates the success of the operation.

Kotlin

SdkCall.execute {
    val (trackedPositions, error) = mapView.getTrackedPositions()

    if (!GemError.isError(error)) {
        // Use the tracked positions
        trackedPositions?.let { positions ->
            // Process the list of coordinates
        }
    }

    mapView.stopTrackPositions()
}

Java

SdkCall.execute(() -> {
    Pair<ArrayList<Coordinates>, GemError> result = mapView.getTrackedPositions();
    ArrayList<Coordinates> trackedPositions = result.first;
    GemError error = result.second;

    if (!GemError.isError(error)) {
        // Use the tracked positions
        if (trackedPositions != null) {
            // Process the list of coordinates
        }
    }

    mapView.stopTrackPositions();
});

danger

Calling getTrackedPositions() after stopTrackPositions() is called will result in returning an empty list.