https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Architecture
  • Engineering/Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Smart Environments


Smart Earthquake Detection Systems Can Protect Millions

An uptick in seismic activity in several parts of the world underscores the need for better earthquake detection and warning technologies.
  • Written by Brian Buntz
  • 5th May 2016

Any day, a massive earthquake could hit the West Coast of the United States, and could potentially be the worst national disaster ever to hit the country. While the San Andreas fault is the most well known, an enigmatic fault referred to as the Cascadia Subduction Zone that stretches from Northern California to north of Vancouver could rupture, could trigger a mega quake with a magnitude of 9.0—equivalent to the Japanese 2011 earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Bay Area has a 72% chance of having at least a 6.7 quake in the next three decades. Southern California faces a similar risk.

The 9.0 Japanese quake that hit Japan five years ago brought attention to that country’s earthquake detection system, which provided Tokyo residents with about 80 seconds of warning before the quake hit the metropolis. The government-run system relies on sensors based throughout the island nation. When detecting earthquakes, the system can automatically apply brakes to trains, open garage doors for first responder vehicles, and enable surgeons to wind up procedures.

California is in the midst of installing a statewide earthquake detection system that would rely on sensors placed throughout the state to monitor when quakes strike and predict where they will travel. The system could trigger an alert that provides seconds' to minutes' worth of time to take action.

While the project to spread earthquake detection systems across the state is new, California has already seen the benefits of the technology in select locations. For instance, the city of Palm Springs—located near the San Andreas Fault—installed its first earthquake warning system in 2001 at a central fire station located at Palm Springs International Airport. Large earthquakes can jam fire stations’ garage doors, significantly delaying response times. But a seismic alert device can provide about 15 to 30 seconds of warning time. The device can be connected to the fire station's garage doors, causing them to open automatically in the case of an earthquake.

“Right when we had it installed in Palm Springs, we had a mid-5 earthquake and the system picked up and triggered the garage doors to open and, as far as I know, it has never had a false warning,” says Harold Good, President and CEO of Procurement Pros Group who had been the Director of Procurement and Contracting for the city. “When earthquake detection systems emit false alarms, it is like screaming fire in a packed auditorium,” he adds.

The machine-to-machine QuakeGuard technology, which is made by Seismic Warning Systems Inc., also uses an algorithm that can discriminate between earthquakes and other events that can cause a building to shake—such as nearby construction.

“When we installed in their system in Palm Springs, and we had just got new aircraft crash vehicles that were taller than our facility could handle. We had major construction to accommodate those larger vehicles,” Good recounts. “We thought for sure that jackhammering would set it off, but it didn’t.”

The algorithm applied by the vendor can accurately ascertain whether a tremble is an earthquake or something else.

Similar technology has been installed in some California schools such as the Milpitas Christian School in Scotts Valley. “An early earthquake warning is imperative for schools. There have been schools in California that have tested the average response time for children to take cover after a warning and it is less than three seconds,” Good says.

Earthquake alert systems can also communicate with elevators. “If you are in a high-rise in San Francisco and are in an elevator, an early warning system could be programmed to travel to the nearest floor and open the doors if there is an earthquake of, say, at least 5.0,” Good says. “It is scary to be stuck in an earthquake. And in the case of a severe earthquake, you have a risk of having the building collapse. If you can get out of the elevator before a serious earthquake hits, that is a good thing.”

Earthquake detection technology can also be used to help minimize supply chain problems following natural disasters, such as those faced by Japan’s automotive and electronics’ industries after its 2011 quake and tsunami.

Safeguarding the supply chain from mother nature that was a goal behind IBM’s recent decision to buy the Weather Company earlier this year. “The Weather Company has several billion global sensors to use IBM Watson and prevent supply chain disruption,” Good explains. “Weather has such a significant impact on the supply chain. And part of their future agenda is to add earthquake detection. IBM is also looking at detecting volcanoes. The sky's the limit on what they are doing with Watson.”

Tags: Article Smart Homes and Smart Buildings Smart Environments Vertical Industries

Related


  • IoT Implementation Trends
    Most organizations have IoT plans but many aren’t sure how to achieve them
  • Panic buttons could become widespread in the hotel industry.
    The Hotel Panic Button Could Redefine Hospitality Networking
    The hotel panic button could see mainstream adoption in the United States by 2020. Read on to hear how it might change the hospitality networking landscape.
  • Honeywell Debuts Smart Building Technology for Optimizing Space
    In a market crowded with point solutions, Honeywell’s new smart building technology for measuring building occupancy stands out.
  • mktg-wp-nolabel1
    Intelligent Buildings: Smart lighting as the backbone for buildings automation
    With a growing focus on human-centric workspaces, building owners and operators are looking beyond energy efficiency, and considering smart lighting as the backbone for advanced building automation applications. Download this white paper and learn: Advanced applications based on a smart lighting system Critical factors for a successful smart lighting deployment Arm’s processor technology and Mbed […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • 25 of the Smartest Cities on the Planet
  • The Facial Recognition Technology Genie Is Out of the Bottle
  • Smart to Future Cities: Defining the Perfect Solution
  • Why Milton Keynes Is One of the Smart Cities in the World

News

View all

Private LTE Market Projected to Grow to $13 Billion

12th January 2021

IoT World Announces 2021 IoT World Advisory Board

9th December 2020

White Papers

View all

The eSIM Cookbook – Towards the Next Generation of Connected Devices

22nd February 2021

eSIM Delivers Greater Freedom for OEMs – by Beecham Research and Truphone

22nd February 2021

Special Reports

View all

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

Webinars

View all

Weber’s Journey: How a Top Grill Maker Serves Up Connected Cooking

25th February 2021

From Insights to Action: Best Practices for Implementing Connected Device Security

15th December 2020

Galleries

View all

Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020

26th January 2020

Five of the Most Promising Digital Health Technologies

14th January 2020

Industry Perspectives

View all

IoT Spending Holds Firm — Tempered by Dose of ‘IoT Pragmatism’

1st December 2020

The Great IoT Connectivity Lockdown

11th May 2020

Events

View all

IoT at the Edge

17th March 2021

Embedded IoT World 2021

28th April 2021 - 29th April 2021

IoT World 2021

2nd November 2021 - 4th November 2021

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

IoT Remote Monitoring Helps Enterprises Traverse COVID-19 and Beyond dlvr.it/RtZ3K5 https://t.co/owJXYf1gkO

26th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Securing the Industrial Internet of Things dlvr.it/RtYfYk https://t.co/khUn79dvQD

26th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

📢 Announcing #EIOTWORLD sponsor, @BluetoothSIG — the global standard for simple, secure wireless connections. ➕ Le… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

How IoT Devices Can Enhance the Connected Customer Experience dlvr.it/RtPcvS

24th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

🤝 Meet #EIOTWORLD speaker Ingo Feldner, Project Lead for Virtual #Hardware Platforms at @RobertBoschGmbH 📅 Join hi… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

24th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Developing IoT Applications with Rust: Using a Rust Development Environment dlvr.it/RtNqrk https://t.co/wOmnoz2UVT

24th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Chip-Enabled Edge AI Drives Next-Gen IoT dlvr.it/RtKcMQ https://t.co/dLjBzE6Qei

23rd February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

The eSIM Cookbook – Towards the Next Generation of Connected Devices dlvr.it/RtG5bB https://t.co/5kXa8Pnv4T

22nd February 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X