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The original was posted on /r/explainlikeimfive by /u/mintyque on 2023-06-27 20:58:28+00:00.

Inspired by a question on pedometers.

My mom has a pedometer from 2013, I think. It can detect steps fairly well and it does not react to shaking. I tried to shake the pedometer as if I’m walking and it recorded nothing.

I have a Xiaomi smart watch and sometimes when I roll around in my bed it detects the movement as walking and adds ~20 steps.

How can a pedometer distinguish walking from shaking?