Collaborative earthquake detection and response using smart devices

Abstract

An earthquake detection and response system is crucial due to the fatal nature of earthquakes. Recently, extensive research efforts have been made to detect earthquakes in real time and give an alert by incorporating with server-based systems or by working as a stand-alone device. However, such approaches still have many challenges due to the cost of network and server infrastructures or the inaccuracy of detection algorithms. In this work, we introduce a collaborative approach using smart devices located in a near area to detect earthquakes and issue an alert with detailed action plans. A smartphone's accelerometer works as a seismic sensor to monitor ground motions when it is in a steady state. Once an earthquakelike motion is detected, it is sent to nearby devices through D2D communications to confirm it as an earthquake. Our experimental results show that the proposed approach can be effective in a home environment or an earthquake early warning system is not present.