Thanks to the open source Unimotion library by Lincoln Ramsay, I have developed a java native interface that allows access to the Apple Sudden Motion Sensor available in powerbooks (and macbooks) since 2005.

Download the library sms.zip. Extract it to “. . ./Applications/Processing 0118/libraries” and you will have the following files:

Source code for unimotion.c and Unimotion.java is contained in the src directory.

Available functions:

// Return x, y, and z values as array
public static int[] getSMSArray();

// Return just the X
public static int getSMSX();

// Return just the Y
public static int getSMSY();

// Return just the Z
public static int getSMSZ();

Example code:

import sms.*;

void setup() {
  size(200,200);
}

void draw() {
  int[] vals = Unimotion.getSMSArray();
  println(vals[0] + " " + vals[1] + " " + vals[2]);
}

History of Motion