Methods, devices and computer readable storage devices for emulating a gyroscope in a guest operating system from a host operating system

1. A method for providing a guest operating system with access to a gyroscope associated with a computing device including a processor executing a host operating system, comprising:

generating a request for gyroscope data by a first application associated with the guest operating system, wherein the guest operating system is launched as a virtual operating system executed as a guest of the host operating system;

receiving the request at a hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system;

sending the request from the hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system to a second application executed by the processor in a user mode layer associated with the host operating system;

sending the request from the second application to a driver executing within a kernel of the host operating system, wherein the driver retrieves the requested gyroscope data from the gyroscope;

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the driver to the second application;

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the second application to the hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system; and

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the hardware abstraction layer to the first application.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request is sent from the hardware abstraction layer to the second application via a data channel.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the retrieved gyroscope data is sent to the hardware abstraction layer from the second application via a data channel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first application is a rotation detection application.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the guest operating system is an Android operating system.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the host operating system is a Windows operating system.

7. A computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

executing a host operating system;

executing an application for launching a guest operating system, wherein the guest operating system is a virtual operating system executed as a guest of the host operating system;

generating a request for gyroscope data by a first application associated with the guest operating system;

receiving the request at a hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system;

sending the request from the hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system to a second application executed by the processor in a user mode layer associated with the host operating system;

sending the request from the second application to a driver executing within a kernel of the host operating system, wherein the driver retrieves the requested gyroscope data from the gyroscope;

providing the retrieved gyroscope data to the second application via the driver;

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the second application to the hardware abstraction layer associated with the quest operating system; and

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the hardware abstraction layer to the first application.

8. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the request is sent from the hardware abstraction layer to the second application via a data channel.

9. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the retrieved gyroscope data is sent from the second application to the hardware abstraction layer via a data channel.

10. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the first application is a rotation detection application.

11. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the guest operating system is an Android operating system.

12. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the host operating system is a Windows operating system.

13. A computer readable storage device having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

executing a host operating system;

executing an application for launching a guest operating system, wherein the guest operating system is a virtual operating system executed as a guest of the host operating system;

generating a request for gyroscope data by a first application associated with a guest operating system;

receiving the request at a hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system;

sending the request from the hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system to a second application executed by the processor in a user mode layer associated with the host operating system;

sending the request from the second application to a driver executing within a kernel of the host operating system, wherein the driver retrieves the requested gyroscope data from the gyroscope;

providing the retrieved gyroscope data to the second application via the driver;

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the second application to the hardware abstraction layer associated with the guest operating system; and

sending the retrieved gyroscope data from the hardware abstraction layer to the first application.

14. The computer readable storage device of claim 13 , wherein the request is sent from the hardware abstraction layer to the second application via a data channel.

15. The computer readable storage device of claim 13 , wherein the retrieved gyroscope data is sent to the hardware abstraction layer from the second application via a data channel.

16. The computer readable storage device of claim 13 , wherein the first application is a rotation detection application.

17. The computer readable storage device of claim 13 , wherein the guest operating system is an Android operating system, and the host operating system is a Windows operating system.