Canadian developer and blogger Krish Shah has discovered perhaps the most unlikely use of your MacBook’s touchpad: a digital weighing scale. The app in question is called TrackWeight, and it’s completely open-source and available now on GitHub, if you’re interested to try it out.
Weighing Things On A MacBook
TrackWeight taps into the pressure sensitivity of Apple’s Force Touch trackpads – found on MacBook Pros from 2015 and MacBooks from 2016 onwards – to measure the weight of small objects. The way it works is by simply reading touchpad’s data like position, pressure, angle, and density; these values can be calculated into a weight figure, since weight is simply a metric of how much force is applied through gravity (or in this case, the touchpad).
Of course, there are caveats. You need to keep your fingers in contact with the trackpad for the readings to work, and while TrackWeight is “pretty accurate,” it’s not meant for heavy objects. Shah reports it can handle items up to 3.5kg – although you probably wouldn’t want to put things anywhere close that figure for the laptop’s sake. Also, metal objects can confuse the sensors, so it’s a good idea to put a layer of insulation (a piece of paper will do) to ensure accurate readings.
In its disclaimer, Shah noted that TrackWeight is for “experimental and educational purposes” only, so don’t use it for anything critical, or commercial-related. But hey, now you know a way to stretch your MacBook’s capabilities, so maybe install this to impress a few friends along the way?
Pokdepinion: Honestly, I’m amazed. I don’t think Windows laptops would be able to do that.
