Matis Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Hello everybody! I'm an app developer and a few times a year I also go climb mountains. I noticed that most apps in the App Store that measure your height aren't accurate and really don't look good. So, my question is if anyone would be interested in such an app and if so which features it should really include. Feel free to drop all your thoughts below! If their is enough interest I will make an accurate altimeter app, I already searched a bit on the internet and I'm convinced that making a really accurate altimeter app, that requires no internet, is possible. Thanks in advance, Matis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassgowkiss Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 If it measured actual atmospheric pressure. I think most of the apps just use combination of triangulation and altitude map readout. Unless you have a gauge measuring actual atmospheric pressure and translate this into an altitude readout, the second method will always be inaccurate. Hence the apps will always be a inaccurate method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 It would be nice if it worked. All the existing alt apps are inaccurate. One of them says I'm -56 ft. at my house. So how would you make it accurate going only off GPS? If it worked it would be nice to have total cumulative gain, max height. And maybe a save feature that would record altitude with time. And maybe a rate feature, like ft per hr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rad Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Gaia already does it by combining GPS w USGS topo maps. From GPS coordinates you can find out altitude, assuming you're not riding your Nimbus 2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 I only can include atmorspheric pressure for iPhone 6 and 6 plus however it is possible. What you say about the normal method that isn't accurate at all may be accurate, however I already made a system that works with the average values of the past milliseconds and uses only the best values, apple has a function to do this. It took me a while but the app is ready and is very accurate, mostly less than 3 meters (about 10ft) accurate. I can also include the iPhone 6 barometer feature to make it even more accurate. Tell me what you think about it. Matis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thanks for your response! Please see my previous answer, I hope you like it. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Matis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thanks for your response! Please see my previous answer, I hope you like it. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Matis Running Android what is the name of the app so we can search it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 The app is not online yet. I am an IOS developer unfortunately so I won't make an Android version If the app releases on the App Store I will notice you. It will be named Altimeter by DSDeveloping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtree Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Good stuff Matis. I'd be interested in an app like that for my iPhone 6. Please make sure it can be set to report in metric and imperial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Trick Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) All the existing alt apps are inaccurate. One of them says I'm -56 ft. at my house. I think the problem you're running into is that the phone's GPS is just telling you basically how far you are away from the WGS84 ellipsoid, and not mean sea level. In other world, it assumes the earth is more circular than it actually is. A good GPS application will provide a way to correct these values, with OsmAnd you can download a thing called "World Altitude Corrections" which will fix the problem. Using USGS topo data like Gaia reportedly does will work too, but only in the US. Note that using a barometric altimeter won't give you very accurate values either, unless you like the height of your mountains to be depend on the kind of weather you're getting. Gory nerdy details here http://stackoverflow.com/a/11503937. Edited May 11, 2015 by Alan Trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Today, the app finaly went online. Be sure to watch it on the following link https://appsto.re/be/clDg7.i I hope you like it. The app is already really accurate and in further upgrades I promise I will make it even more accurate. It costs 0.99c because I worked on it a while and really believe this Altimeter is better than others. I also need to charge this 0.99c because I'm only 15 years old and need to pay 90€ a year to be allowed to make apps on the App Store. I hope you can support me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtree Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Just downloaded it for my iPhone 6. Nice - simple and accurate where I'm current located. Will try it out on a nearby peak on the weekend and provide some more feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Just downloaded it for my iPhone 6. Nice - simple and accurate where I'm current located. Will try it out on a nearby peak on the weekend and provide some more feedback. Thanks for supporting me! I really appreciate that. I hope you will enjoy the app! If you want anything different be sure to tell it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 https://appsto.re/be/clDg7.i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtree Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hey Matis, I've been testing out your app for a few days now on my iPhone 6 The bug, and it's an irritating one, is that after a few moments the background picture fades to a white background making the elevation numbers very hard to read. I've tried it with the cell on and off with no apparent difference. Can't find any setting function to resolve either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matis Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Sorry for my late response, I had it too busy with school... Today I sent an update for review and in about 6 days the update will be online if everything goes right. This update solves the problem with the with background, makes it available for iOS 7 too and adds an Apple Watch version. I will post again if it's online. Matis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtree Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Good stuff. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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