Modern smartphones include a wide array of sensors, one of which is an accelerometer to detect motion. It’s this sensor that Google is relying on as the backbone of the Android Earthquake Alerts System. Here’s how it’ll work.…
Modern smartphones include a wide array of sensors, one of which is an accelerometer to detect motion. It’s this sensor that Google is relying on as the backbone of the Android Earthquake Alerts System. Here’s how it’ll work. When the accelerometer in an Android smartphone detects movement consistent with an earthquake, a signal will be sent to Google’s earthquake detection server along with “coarse” location information. If many phones send in a signal simultaneously, the system could interpret this as valid earthquake activity and, once fully implemented, issue a warning to users in affected and surrounding areas.
