A new phone app uses shaking from smartphones to warn people about earthquakes. The new app is called MyShake, which is the work of four researchers at the University of California. Berkeley.

Smartphones are equipped with accelerometers(加速器). MyShake uses phone accelerometers to measure seismic (地震的) activity. It has been programmed to know the difference between normal activity and earthquake movement. The software developers say their app is right 93 percent of the time. A smartphone sends seismic information to the app developers. If the developers receive several warnings from one area, it recognizes that an earthquake may be taking place or will take place soon. Using information sent from the app, the network then judges the location and strength of the quake in real time. MyShake can record 5.0 earthquake at distances of 10 kilometers or less.

MyShake uses very little power, according to its developers. Only when seismic activity is sensed by the app does it become active and sends data to the network. The app works best when your phone is resting on a flat surface, like a table.

The developers hope that MyShake can add to information collected by the U.S Geological Survey. That U.S agency has created the Earthquake Early Warning System, also known as the EEW. The EEW has used sensors for measuring quakes in many areas. In places where no such equipment exists, MyShake may be the only method of early quake detection (发现). The app also shows ways to stay safer during an earthquake. The developers say it will become more effective as more people use it.

The developers say they hope to add a feature that will warn people about possible tsunami after an earthquake.

Mobile phone technology is advancing rapidly, but what can people expect to be using in 2018?

What will their mobile be able to do and what will look like? Nokia has collaborated with Industrial Design students from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London to come up with some ideas.

The Winner

Daniel Meyer

The device (装置) was inspired both by the appearing of video calling and the traditional practice of carrying pictures of family and friends with you. The handset is designed to sit as a picture frame (镜框) wherever the user is, serving the double purposes of communications device and a comforting familiar focus at home or when away.

Regenerate

Nicola Reed

It aims to get people to be more green. It collects infuriation on how much electricity and gas you use how you get about, the type of products you buy, and how you deal with waste. It works on a reward system and you can earn free calls and texts by being environmentally friendly, like walking to work instead of driving.

Hello

Sung-Joo Kim

People constantly upgrade mobiles and throw away their old ones. In the future new mobiles will have to exist alongside older modals that have become redundant (过剩的) in their primary role. This project proposes a change for them, using secondary functions like the camera. This model allows old phones to become part of a CCTV network.

Get Your Friend

Ik-Soo Shin

The aim was a user friendly product that gave an emotional relationship, like a friend. A new generation of mobiles with artificial intelligence will be able to express a user’s feelings, such as anger. The phone will also automatically recognize the voice of the user, allowing communication between them and their mobiles.

It seems that technology could be changing the places where we live. A project conducted by Johann Siau, a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire’s School of Engineering and Technology, has built on the university’s InterHome project aimed to create a home that supervises people living at home who are weak or elderly.

“We’ve developed a wristband type of device（装置）,” said Johann Siau, “which allows us to monitor the condition of an elderly person, or whoever is wearing the device. It allows us to collect data of a person to see if the person has fallen or is away from where they are supposed to be. It connects an elderly person with an assisted living type of device with the InterHome.” The assisted living project is part of the university’s wider InterHome project, which is the development of a smart house. The house stores the usage patterns of the person living there and can adapt to make it use as little energy as possible. Connecting the two together and building the service element（元素）allow us to introduce the assisted living idea to care for the elderly. It’s very important that these technologies are there to help and support rather than to replace any of the existing services.

The InterHome is not just a prototype（样品）or a vehicle for research. It’s a study tool to help students from different scientific backgrounds learn about and develop technology. The InterHome combines the latest broadband technology, mobile data and communication. Researchers and students make sure that all the technology works together. Students get experience by developing new hardware and software themselves. It requires a variety of skills from students—electronic engineers, computer students, design students ad so on. “The present plan we are working on is a smart home project in Watford with some commercial companies, ” said Johann Siau. “We are looking at how a smarter home can provide extra value services.”