Types of Sensors

The Android platform supports three broad categories of sensors:

• Motion sensors These sensors measure acceleration forces and rotational forces along three axes. This category includes accelerometers, gravity sensors, gyroscopes and rotational vector sensors.
• Environmental sensors These sensors measure various environmental parameters, such as ambient air temperature and pressure, illumination, and humidity. This category includes barometers, photometers and thermometers.
• Position sensors These sensors measure the physical position of a device. This category includes orientation sensors and magnetometers.

Note: Location Sensors will not be studied in this overview.

Source: Sensors Overview - Android Developers