Android devices are already helping with detection in California, now Google wants to roll the system out worldwide to offer everyone a vital few seconds of warning.
(Photo: Pixabay) At last year’s Google I/O, the company announced there were 2.5 billion active Android devices. Now all of them can help to detect earthquakes and offer a few vital seconds of notice to take cover before they hit. Posting on the Google blog, Marc Stogaitis, Principal Software Engineer at Android, explains how the search giant worked with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to send earthquake alerts using Android devices in California. They took advantage of the ShakeAlert system, which consists of a ground network of over 700 seismometers installed across the state. With a successful project under its belt in California, the Android team expanded the scope of the detection to encompass all Android devices regardless of where you live in the world.
