Earthquake early warningSilicon Valley tech startups developing earthquake early warning mobile apps
Silicon Valley tech startups are developing mobile applications to alert residents about earthquakes, but most lack a direct source to the seismic sensors deployed by the state’s ShakeAlertsystem which sends alerts seconds before the ground begins to shake.Googleis currently the only tech company with an agreement to access ShakeAlert’s data feed, and analysts anticipate that Google will integrate ShakeAlert’s system with its Nestthermostat, a Web-connected thermostat that sends alerts to users’ phone and e-mail with details on home temperature and energy use.
Silicon Valley tech startups are developing mobile applications to alert residents about earthquakes, but most lack a direct source to the seismic sensors deployed by the state’s ShakeAlert system which sends alerts seconds before the ground begins to shake.
When the Napa earthquake struck the Bay Area, researchers and volunteers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with University of California-Berkeley, University of Washington, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Washington received warnings from the California Integrated Seismic Network – a network of roughly 400 ground motion sensors which identify primary waves (P-waves) as they move through the Earth at almost twice the speed of the earthquakes’ destructive S-waves, which shake the ground.
Despite having an earthquake detection program, California needs about $80 million to send earthquake early warnings to residents via mobile apps, the Web, radio, or television. Meanwhile, private tech companies which already offer mobile notification services may be able to offer early warnings to their customers.
San Francisco startup Lockitron makes smartphone-controlled door locks which alerts users when someone is knocking on their door. Co-founder Cameron Robertson believes the knock-vibration sensors on the doors could also be used to identify vibrations from an earthquake. “If you have 1,000 homes where the knock sensors start going off at the same time,” that could signal an earthquake, he said. When knocking begins at homes near the epicenter, an alert could be sent out to homes farther way, giving those residents early warnings.
Mercury News reports that San Francisco-based messaging app company Yo, which sends “Yo” messages to users, has developed an earthquake alert app that connects to the USGS Web site which publishes earthquake activity. Though the app does not provide early warnings, it does notify users of confirmed earthquakes. The app’s number of users has increased from 400 to over 1,800 after the Napa earthquake.
Google is currently the only tech company with an agreement to access ShakeAlert’s data feed, and the company is working on an app which may offer earthquake early warning alerts. The app aims to “provide the public with information it needs to make informed decisions in times of crisis,” a spokeswoman said, but tech industry analysts anticipate that Google will integrate ShakeAlert’s system with its Nest thermostat, a Web-connected thermostat that sends alerts to users’ phone and e-mail with details on home temperature and energy use.
