In seismically active areas, such as California, seismologists and others have worked hard to create an earthquake warning system that will alert residents of an impending earthquake, perhaps even before it was announced in the local media. The developed system is similar in nature to the Japanese, which operates since 2007.
Typically, early warning systems require specialized equipment to detect earthquakes, but what if your smartphone can help to improve the early warning system? As a solution, and it was invented by the app MyShake . It is designed for users of Android-researchers from the University of California at Berkeley.
MyShake effectively turns your smartphone into a pocket seismometer. The program runs in the background and uses the phone’s built-in accelerometer to detect movement, and if it detects movement, which is consistent with the “vibrational profile” earthquake, immediately begins to provide data seismologists at Berkeley for analysis. According to the site MyShake , the application sends this data anonymously, so you do not have to worry about your personal information at risk.
In the end, the researchers are hoping to use the app as part of a global network to detect earthquakes.
Team Myshake highlights the application and any, even the future smartphone based detection network will not replace specialized systems earthquake detection, such as those managed by the Geological Survey US or the institution of Berkeley.
However, Richard Allen ( Richard Allen) , University of California professor at Berkeley, who oversees the project MyShake , said Berkeley News , that « MyShake can make early earthquake warning systems faster and more precisely in the areas that are the traditional seismic network and can provide a vital early warning in countries where there are no seismic network ».
While the MyShake is designed only for Android . But the version of iPhone is in development. The researchers hope that the findings will allow them to announce earthquakes in all parts of the world long before the first tremor of the earth’s crust. The app is free and available on Google Play
Author:. Stepan Mazur
Original photos: pcworld
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