Last February, seismologists from the University of California, Berkeley developed an app called MyShake. The application allows anyone to monitor seismic activities from the convenience of a cell phone. MyShake monitors seismic activity by screening potential earthquakes or alerting the user when one is underway.
With more than 200,000 downloads, the application has outperformed its creator’s expectations after detecting approximately 200 earthquakes in 10 different countries. After its introduction to the market, MyShake’s creators have discovered that the application sensor can not only detect large seismic movement, but small ones too. The application can record earthquake magnitudes of 2.5 and above.
MyShake’s technology starts working when a user activates their account and leaves their cell phone to sit idle, so it can get an accurate reading. If it detects seismic movement, the phone will provide data to the MyShake archive. The accelerometers within cell phones are extremely efficient and can read minimal seismic movements.
MyShake’s goal is to be able to monitor more earthquakes as the network of users increases. Having hundreds or thousands of them dispersed in different parts of the world can provide the public with invaluable preventive earthquake information. The information will provide efficient earthquake warnings to people who live in earthquake-prone areas and grant them a few extra seconds to get to a safer place.
Right now, the application is only available to Android phones through the Google Play store, but an iPhone version is in the works!
The seismic monitoring platform created by UC Berkeley seismologists makes MyShake the perfect candidate to claim the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. This federal and state tax incentive can be obtained by creating innovative technology like MyShake since it’s a ground-breaking application in the seismic monitoring industry. To learn more about the R&D Tax Credits visit email us at [email protected].