Consider the following actions: 1. Detection of car crash/collision, which result in the deployment of airbags almost instantaneously. 2. Detection of accidental free fall of a laptop towards the ground which results in the immediate turning off of the hard drive. 3. Detection of the tilt of the smart-phone which results in the rotation of display between portrait and landscape mode. UPSC GS Paper-I PYQs 568 In how many of the above actions is the function of the accelerometer required?

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YESPYQ · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: All three. An accelerometer is an electromechanical device used to measure acceleration forces. These forces may be static like the continuous force of gravity or dynamic force to sense movement or vibrations. Statement 1 is correct: Upon a collision, the crash sensor, typically an accelerometer, transmits a signal to the airbag control unit to deploy the airbags almost immediately. Statement 2 is correct: Accelerometers in laptops protect hard drives from damage. If the laptop were to suddenly drop while in use, the accelerometer would detect the sudden free fall and immediately turn off the hard drive to avoid hitting the reading heads into the hard drive platter. Statement 3 is correct: Accelerometer is used in smartphones as it detects the rotation of their display between portrait and landscape mode depending on the tilt of the phone. 152

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