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| Google will convert Android phones into seismographs |
Google said on Tuesday: Smartphones running the Android operating system have begun to detect earthquakes around the world with the aim of providing data that can provide billions of valuable seconds to warn them of earthquakes and activate the alarm first. In California, USA.
Japan, Mexico and California are already using ground-based sensors to generate alerts intended to reduce injuries and property damage by removing people from the epicenter within seconds of the earthquake starting. .
If Google's detection and warning methods prove effective, the alert could cover more people for the first time, including Indonesia and other developing countries with few traditional sensors.
Seismologists at Google Consulting said turning smartphones into small seismometers is a huge achievement, even as the inevitable false positives continue to be developed and algorithms from private companies are used to maintain public safety. More than 2.5 billion devices (including some tablets) run Google's Android operating system.
"Over the past year, we've issued earthquake alerts wherever smartphones are available," said Richard Allen, director of the seismic laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.
Chief software engineer (Mark Stugitz) said: Google's plan was proposed at a week-long meeting about four and a half years ago to test whether the phone's accelerometer can detect car crashes, earthquakes and tornadoes. Accelerometers - sensors that measure the direction and force of movement - are primarily used to determine whether a user is holding the phone in a horizontal or vertical position.
The company checked historical accelerometer readings during the earthquake and found that it was able to guide some users for a minute. Currently, Android phones can distinguish between earthquakes and vibrations caused by thunder.
Stugetes said that when the phone detects an earthquake, it sends its entire city location to Google, which can triangulate the epicenter and estimate its magnitude from hundreds of reports. The system is not available in regions where the use of Google services is prohibited (such as China).
Google plans to release its first alerts based on acceleration readings next year. There are also plans to notify businesses for free in the hope that elevators, gas stations, and other systems will shut down automatically before the vibrations begin.
Stogetes said: High-pitched ringtones and full screen alarms will make users who want to vibrate loudly drop, cover themselves and lock up. People at a distance will receive smaller notifications that are not supposed to cause sleep, while those near the alarm will receive safety messages after an earthquake, for example b- check a gas valve.
In the event of an earthquake of 4.5 on the Richter scale or higher, an alarm is triggered and no app download is required.