Abstract
This study reports on the accuracy of smartphone-based illuminance measurement applications and whether they may be employed for occupational lighting measurements. A sample of nine mobile phones on three platforms (Android, iOS and Windows) was assembled and 14 apps were selected for testing. Testing conditions comprised four pre-specified illuminance levels (300 lx, 500 lx, 750 lx and 1000 lx) accomplished with three light sources presenting different Correlated Color Temperatures (2700 K; 4000 K; 6500 K). The results reveal extremely variable and sometimes large deviations from the reference levels and suggest smartphones are not appropriate for use in occupational lighting assessments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
CEN: EN 12464-1:2011 Light and lighting—lighting of work places part 1: indoor work places (2011)
ISO: ISO 8995-1:2002(en) Lighting of work places—part 1: indoor (2002)
Goodman, T.: Measurement and specification of lighting: a look at the future. Light. Res. Technol. 41, 229–243 (2009)
ISO: ISO/CIE 19476:2014 Characterization of the performance of illuminance meters and luminance meters (2014)
Statista (The Statistics Portal): Smartphones industry: statistics and Facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/840/smartphones/
Grupo Marktest: Smartphone continua a crescer em Portugal. http://www.marktest.com/wap/a/n/id~2046.aspx
Daponte, P., De Vito, L., Picariello, F., Riccio, M.: State of the art and future developments of measurement applications on smartphones. Meas. J. Int. Meas. Confed. 46, 3291–3307 (2013)
Johnson, N., Saxena, P., Williams, D., Bangole, O.C., Kamrul, H.M., Ahamed, S.I., Smith, R.O., Tomashek, D.: Smartphone-based light and sound intensity calculation application for accessibility measurement. In: RESNA Annual Conference, Denver (2015)
McGlothlin, J., Burgess-Limerick, R., Lynas, D.: An iOS application for evaluating whole-body vibration within a workplace risk management process. J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 12, D137–D142 (2015)
Negar, N., Williams, D., Schwartz, J., Ahamed, S.I., Smith, R.O.: Smartphone-based light intensity calculation application for accessibility measurement. In: RESNA Annual Conference, 2014. Indianapolis (2014)
Kim, Y.-S., Kwon, S.-Y., Lim, J.-H.: Implementation of light quality evaluation system using smartphone. Int. J. Bio-Sci. Bio-Technol. 8, 259–270 (2016)
Ibekwe, T.S., David, F.O., Dahilo, E.A., Gbujie, I.O., Nwegbu, M.M., Nwaorgu, O.G.: Evaluation of mobile smartphones app as a screening tool for environmental noise monitoring. J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 13, D31–D36 (2016)
Roberts, B., Kardous, C., Neitzel, R.L.: Improving the accuracy of smart devices to measure noise exposure. J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 13, 840–846 (2016)
Kardous, C.A., Shaw, P.B.: Do sound meter apps measure noise levels accurately? Sound Vib. 49, 10–13 (2015)
Kardous, C.A., Shaw, P.B.: Evaluation of smartphone sound measurement applications. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 135, EL186-92 (2014)
Murphy, E., King, E.A.: Testing the accuracy of smartphones and sound level meter applications for measuring environmental noise. Appl. Acoust. 106, 16–22 (2016)
Kardous, C.A., Shaw, P.B.: Evaluation of smartphone sound measurement applications (apps) using external microfones: a follow-up study. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 140, 327–333 (2016)
Wolfgang, R., Corleto, L.Di, Burgess-Limerick, R.: Can an ipod touch be used to assess whole-body vibration associated with mining equipment? Ann. Occup. Hyg. 58, 1200–1204 (2014)
McGlothlin, J., Wolfgang, R., Burgess-Limerick, R.: Ergonomics: using consumer electronica devices to estimate whole-body vibration exposure. J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 11, D77–D81 (2014)
McGlothlin, J., Burgess-Limerick, R., Lynas, D.: An iOS application for evaluating whole-body vibration within a workplace risk management process. J. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 12, D137–D142 (2015)
Goldschmidt, J.: Luxmeter App versus measuring device: are smartphones suitable for measuring illuminance. https://www.dial.de/en/blog/article/luxmeter-app-versus-measuring-deviceare-smartphones-suitable-for-measuring-illuminance/
NetMarketShare (Market Share Statistics for Internet Technologies): Mobile/Tablet Operating System Market Share. https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8&qpcustomd=1
Simões, P.: Apple voltou ao topo das vendas de smartphones no final de 2016. https://pplware.sapo.pt/apple/apple-topo-vendas-smartphones-final-2016/
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank those who volunteered their smartphones for testing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Cerqueira, D., Carvalho, F., Melo, R.B. (2018). Is It Smart to Use Smartphones to Measure Illuminance for Occupational Health and Safety Purposes?. In: Arezes, P. (eds) Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 604. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60525-8_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60525-8_27
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60524-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60525-8
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)