android app: GPS, Compass and Audio in background

[sebastianovide]

The current Android app behaves exactly like the web app, which means that when the phone is locked, it does not receive location updates. The goal is to enable background functionality so that you can put the phone in your pocket and the app will continue to work, similar to how Google Maps operates.

[sebastianovide]

mm.... cannot a simple way to update the compass and location and update the sounds accordingly while the phone is locked... There are few plugins for background gps but could not find any for the compass and spatial audio...

[steinbro]

Geolocation is the most important one, and I expect spatial audio would not be a separate plugin from background audio more generally.

FWIW, if we do want to have it work well in a pocket, we'd have to make the orientation detection a bit more sophisticated. I believe the original app detected when the user was moving, and if so assumed the user was facing the direction they were traveling. Right now, we rely solely on the device's physical orientation, but "pointing downward" will rarely be the intended direction

[sebastianovide]

Geolocation is the most important one

And compass / heading

, and I expect spatial audio would not be a separate plugin from background audio more generally.

I don't know... To get the benefits that soundscape brings to the table, need to be able to adapt the sound as the user moves in real time

FWIW, if we do want to have it work well in a pocket, we'd have to make the orientation detection a bit more sophisticated. I believe the original app detected when the user was moving, and if so assumed the user was facing the direction they were traveling. Right now, we rely solely on the device's physical orientation, but "pointing downward" will rarely be the intended direction

apparently the iPhone users use the iPod so the orientation comes from them, rather than from the phone. That is what gives the user a real immersive experience feeling as if the sounds are coming from the real beacons.

[steinbro]

apparently the iPhone users use the iPod so the orientation comes from them, rather than from the phone. That is what gives the user a real immersive experience feeling as if the sounds are coming from the real beacons

Yeah, you're talking about the head tracking built into some headphones like EarPods. I have no idea if that sensor data is exposed to a web app.

[sebastianovide]

yea... it looks like it is still under discussion... 🤔 w3c/orientation-sensor#68