A new study published in the American journal Science recently stated that a seismic monitoring network can be constructed using a large number of smartphones and specialized algorithms embedded with motion sensors distributed around the world. Its performance has been proven in some earthquakes and can serve as a supplement to existing earthquake warning networks. Earthquake early warning systems can buy valuable time for people to avoid danger and save lives, but currently many earthquake prone countries and regions have not established urgently needed monitoring networks. The new study published by Google's research team states that they have built a massive earthquake monitoring network using over 2 billion Android phones with embedded motion sensors and specialized algorithms worldwide. When the mobile phone is in a stationary state, its embedded accelerometer can sense the acceleration generated by seismic waves and send data to the server. Researchers have developed specialized algorithms to analyze these signals for identifying earthquakes. The data analysis of the first 3 years of operation of the system shows that it captured over 11000 earthquakes and sent earthquake warnings of magnitude 4.5 or above to users in relevant countries and regions. Its performance is sometimes comparable to traditional earthquake warning systems. User feedback shows that 85% of people who received the alarm felt ground vibrations. This study is an innovative application of the currently widely popular smartphones. Researchers say that this mobile monitoring network cannot replace official earthquake monitoring or warning systems, but can provide supplementary services for people in areas lacking traditional earthquake monitoring and warning networks. (New Society)