How can smartphones be used to save people from earthquakes?

The reason earthquakes are so dangerous, aside from the obvious, is that you can’t predict them, and early warning systems are expensive. That’s why researchers have developed a much more affordable option that uses something that has already been implemented across the globe: smartphones. By having thousands of smartphones sending in information, you could essentially create a substitute for modern seismograph arrays.

Early warning on earthquakes can help save lives, but many countries can’t afford them. That’s why scientists are turning to another location sensor already widespread in many countries: the smartphone. A single smartphone makes for a crappy earthquake sensor — but get enough of them reporting, and it won’t matter. A new study, published today in Science Advances, says that the right network of cell phones might be able to substitute for modern seismograph arrays, providing a crucial early warning in the event of a quake. The study looks at historical earthquake data and modern smartphone hardware (based on the Nexus 5) and comes away with a map of how a smartphone-based earthquake detector might work. As it turns out, a phone’s GPS is more powerful than you might think.