📳 Mobile phones used to detect earthquakes

• Android devices are transformed into a global network for earthquake warnings.
• The system provides valuable seconds of advance warning before an earthquake strikes.
• Over three billion Android phones worldwide can potentially contribute to the system.

Mobile phone's new role in earthquake detection

On October 25, 2022, the San Francisco area was hit by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake. Many residents received warnings on their phones before the shaking began, providing a brief but critical time window, writes Optimist Daily.

Google, in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and academic institutions in California, has developed a system that provides valuable seconds of warning before an earthquake occurs.

Marc Stogaitis, a software engineer at Android, explains: "We're essentially racing the speed of light against the speed of the earthquake."

Crowdsourced earthquake detection

Traditionally, seismometers have been used to detect earthquakes. California's ShakeAlert system receives data from over 700 seismometers. Google has now expanded this network by connecting to the accelerometers found in most Android smartphones. These small sensors, often used to detect the phone's orientation or count steps, are sensitive enough to detect an earthquake's early vibrations.

When a phone senses these vibrations, it sends information to the Android Earthquake Alerts System. The technology can immediately detect and locate the site of an earthquake by evaluating input from thousands, if not millions, of phones.

Three billion devices

The technology's scalability and accessibility are its greatest strengths. With over three billion Android devices in use worldwide, the Earthquake Alerts System has the ability to deliver early warnings in areas without extensive seismometer networks.