Earthquakes continue to happen around the world, and scientists continuously look for ways to warn people to prevent or lessen the human cost. True, seismographs allow scientists to detect earthquakes; however, they cannot predict when an earthquake will happen. But thanks to modern technology and the creativity of dedicated individuals, your smartphone can warn you of an earthquake when it starts to occur.
The app is called MyShake, which was developed by scientists from the University of California in Berkeley. The app uses your smartphone’s accelerometer to detect movements from the ground while you are walking. When your smartphone detects ground movement, it immediately sends an alert to Google, which in turn sends a signal to other Android users in the same area where you are. Upon seeing the earthquake alert on your phone, you can immediately take the necessary precautions to avoid getting hurt before the earthquake begins.
A Wider Scope for Earthquake Detection
Aside from warning you of a potential earthquake, there are other ways by which MyShake can be useful. It gives scientists a wider scope of earthquake occurrences. With the help of this app, scientists can now scan a broader area of earthquakes according to times.standard.com. Thanks to thousands of people using smartphones, scientists are no longer limited by seismographs placed in strategic places. They can now detect the occurrence of earthquakes, even in places where there are no seismographs.
It allows scientists to identify places where earthquakes occur frequently. The data gathered from MyShake app can be used by scientists to pinpoint places that are prone to earthquakes. These could then help people such as real estate developers to think twice before putting up establishments in areas that are prone to earthquakes.
You would be able to warn others of an impending earthquake. You can never tell if people around you have the app on their phones or if they ever have a smartphone with them at the time the earthquake occurs. When your phone begins to shake, you can immediately warn people around you to take the necessary action. This could save a lot of lives, especially if an earthquake does occur.
An App that Saves Energy
Unlike other apps, MyShake does not use your phone’s batteries to warn you of an impending earthquake. This helps save your phone’s batteries. MyShake is just one of the many advancements in early warning systems made over the years. The development of other early warning devices such as commercial burglar alarm systems found in many homes has helped improve home security, and the developers of the app hope it does the same thing for a natural disaster such as earthquakes. This has helped people feel safer not only in their homes but in other places as well.
The development of MyShake has demonstrated how people in the science and techonlogy fiel are continuing to improve the way we live our lives. There are many things that re unpredictable in this world, but humanity has proved that creativity and innovation knows no bounds, and we could very much build things that would help us live in this wondrous but unpredictable world.
