Geosciences and informatics combine
A smartphone app could allow people living in some of the world’s worst earthquake hotspots to know whether their homes are at risk of collapse.
The digital platform being developed at the University of Edinburgh would capture data from seismic detectors and relay it directly to devices with precise GPS information about local risk.
That information could then be used by occupants to address structural issues in their buildings, to make them more resistant to the kind of quakes that devastated parts of Italy recently.
Smartphones themselves could become earthquake monitors because they contain gyroscopes and accelerometers, which are used by seismologists.
Professor John McCloskey, a geophysicist at the university’s school of geosciences, said: “We are very much at the development stage. But we have put together a really great team from geosciences and informatics, as well as education and social sciences backgrounds, who are working on the project.”
The software is being developed in partnership with the university’s Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre.
Women Lead: The story of an entrepreneurial scientist
I first arrived in Scotland over 20 years ago. I had £75 in my wallet and a scholarship offer to do a PhD at the University of Edinburgh. Sometimes I…
Please mind the gap… or healthcare may fall
Imagine sharing a lengthy train journey with others. From beginning to end, imagine how often you might hear ‘mind the gap’ messages about embarking and disembarking safely. Picture how navigating…
Women Lead: My journey from Dragons’ Den to Silicon Valley
Following her appearance on Dragons’ Den, Sheila Hogan, serial entrepreneur, founder and chief executive of digital legacy vault, Biscuit Tin, shares her experience of her time in the Den and…
Look anywhere – the future is ‘aged tech’. But Scotland needs to be more adventurous
Scottish Care, as the representative body of independent social care providers of care home, care at home and housing support services, has been working over several years with colleagues in…
Women Lead: Engineer turned entrepreneur
We are always fascinated by other people’s stories. It’s how we connect, grow and learn from each other. Until very recently I always felt like I didn’t have a story to tell. Who…
‘Women – together we will change the dynamic in tech’
I was inspired to start a career in technology when personal computers were in their infancy and the internet decades away. My childhood dream of becoming a scientist was shaped by…
It’s time to change the future of tech apprenticeships – and we need your help
In his latest exclusive column for Futurescot, Ross Tuffee, chair of the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Digital Economy Skills Group, calls on tech employers to get involved in shaping the…
What AI difference a year makes
Amazingly, it’s been one year since the publication of Scotland’s AI Strategy. And what a year it has been. Demanding but rewarding, with good progress made and great foundations laid…
