With the installation of Earthquake Sensors in Alphabet Inc’s Google’s Smartphone billions of people around the globe will be warned of tremors and will get precious seconds to save their lives. The feature was launched to reduce the life and property damage caused due to earthquakes. Initially, California, Japan and Mexico used land-line based detectors, but now people of California will be able to detect tremors via their Smartphone.
Google is currently conducting experiments, and seismology experts believe that if mobile phones can turn into mini-seismographs that will be an advancement in technology and will help millions of people. Even though there are chances of erroneous data as the private company is handling the algorithms, it will be a major breakthrough.
According to Richard Allen, director of the University of California Berkeley’s seismological lab who is the visiting faculty at Google, said: “We are on a path to delivering earthquake alerts wherever there are smartphones.”
The chief software engineer Marc Stogaitis said, “It all started four and a half years ago after a week-long discussion on whether accelerometers can detect tremors, car crashes, and tornadoes.”
They started working and conducting experiments on the theory whether they could give alerts up to 1 minute prior to the earthquake. But, countries, where Google Play is blocked like China, will not have access to the feature and countries like Indonesia and other developing countries will get the facility for the very first time.
The App will show alerts in three ways; if the earthquake magnitude is 4.5 and above then people in the epicentre zone or nearby will hear a loud dinging and advertisement will be shown on how to cover them and be safe. If the person is not in close proximity, then the alert will be short and won’t stir them, and if the people are already in the radar, then they will be given post tremor safety tips.
The companies will be given free notifications so that they can stop the use of gas lines, elevators, etc. and there will be no need to download the app to get notified. Google aims to launch the feature worldwide next year in 2021.
