Repeatable tests
The app is designed around repeatable starts, consistent phone placement, and enough recorded data to compare one run against another. The aim is not laboratory perfection, but useful workshop feedback.
Insights / App Design
Designing a Better Way to Measure Spin
TopSpin began with a practical workshop problem: how do you compare two spinning tops using real measurements instead of feel alone? The app turns phone sensor data into readable graphs for RPM, vibration, decay, and stability.
The design problem
A spinning top can look beautiful while still hiding small problems. A tiny imbalance may only appear as a shimmer, a rough bearing surface may show up as a vibration peak, and a poor launch can disguise what the top is actually capable of doing.
Readable results
Raw sensor numbers are difficult to interpret on their own. TopSpin turns them into graphs that show speed, vibration, peaks, and decay in a way that can guide design changes.
What the app needs to show
The interface is built around the questions that matter during testing: how fast did it spin, how smoothly did it decay, and did the vibration tell a story about balance or contact quality?
RPM tracking
Live and recorded speed estimates help compare launches, surfaces, stems, tips, and finished designs.
Vibration view
Vibration strength gives a quick visual clue when a top is fluttering, wobbling, or holding centre cleanly.
Decay curve
RPM loss over time helps separate a short but lively spin from a calm, efficient long-running top.
Placeholder roadmap
This page can later become a deeper app development article. Good future additions would be screenshots of the main graphs, a sample test workflow, notes on phone placement, and a short explanation of how different tops appear in the data.
- Export examples Add one or two trimmed CSV examples showing how test sections are saved and compared.
- Graph explanations Give each chart a short plain-English explanation so new testers know what they are seeing.
- Testing checklist Include a simple repeatable setup checklist for foam, phone, launch, surface, and notes.