Scientists turn smartphone into earthquake detector

A group of American scientists has found a way to use smartphones for early detection of earthquakes. The system is especially useful in countries that do not have the money for advanced technology.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which contributed to the study, explained how the technology works. Using the sensors in smartphones, it is possible to detect earthquakes early and build a warning system based on them. That could give people time to find a safe place before strong tremors occur.

In order for the system to work, the information from several smartphones is required: by combining measurements from different devices, the reliability is increased. NASA ran a simulation that simulates an earthquake, which showed that it takes less than 5,000 people to quickly detect an earthquake and send an alert. A disadvantage of the system is that it can only detect earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or higher on the Richter scale.

According to the researchers, a detection system based on smartphones is less accurate than professional earthquake detection equipment. Yet there are possible applications: countries that do not have the money for equipment could cheaply set up a detection system based on smartphones. Large parts of the world do not yet have access to specialized equipment. Incidentally, it should also be possible to link the smartphone data with specialized equipment; that could increase the reliability of the data.

It is not yet clear whether an earthquake detector will be built somewhere based on smartphone data. The system probably needs further testing first.