The earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale that hit Nepal on April 25 and caused 8000 plus casualties and rendered tens of thousands hurt and hundreds of thousands homeless. In case of a natural disaster, minutes and even seconds can save lives.
The developers of this new smartphone app are focusing on: those precious seconds in which data can be collected and users can be alerted in the event of an earthquake.
The App is Called ‘QuakeShare’, it uses GPS technology and a directional gyro system. The procedure takes place when the smart phone detects a tremor and instantly transmits the information to the App server in the cloud. The server collects data from other smartphones and then their combined algorithm analyses all the data collected and informs accurately whether there is risk of an earthquake or not. All this is a matter of few seconds, states “Pierre-Marie Sarant, founder of CynSIS”, the company behind the QuakeShare app.
The goal is to create a useful, real-time alarm or an early warning system, which will help collect data on affected zones to reinforce crisis response and help mobilize relief teams.
Pierre-Marie Sarant further explains that after the confirmation of an earthquake a general alert is sent out, over the smart phone screen the chronometer shows a confirmed tremor that occurred two seconds ago. So people know that time is running out and that they must run for a shelter and save themselves.
The basic idea is to geo-localise the users, so that in the event of a power cut or if the mobile network goes down, we know their exact location when the earthquake struck.
One downside of this invention is its reliance on mobile networks and the internet, which renders it useless in certain remote areas of the world, especially in time of the natural disaster.
Still at developing stage the QuakeShare app is scheduled for release at the end of the year.
