Welcome to this week’s 920 Weekly Roundup! Let’s see what’s been in the news this week..
U.S. scientists have created an app that has the potential to save lives by using your smartphone as an earthquake sensor. The app, MyShake, uses motion sensors on the smartphone to feel an earthquake. It records features of an earthquake, the time and amplitude of a tremor, then sends this data and the location of the phone to a seismological lab in Berkeley, California to analyse. The aim of the app is to create a global seismic network. Therefore the more people that use the app, the more reliable the system will be. The hope is for this network to eventually warn people ahead of time of incoming earthquakes. If all goes to plan, MyShake will ideally save lives.
The developing self-driving cars has sparked a debate on ethics. Many people are questioning what would happen if a self-driving car caused a crash – who would be to blame? These questions target the issue of liability. It could mean more liability and risk for the manufacturer of the car. However it will be tricky where the line between product liability and personal insurance will fall. Follow the link to learn more about this interesting and complicated debate.
The Microsoft Band 2 tracks your steps, distance, resting heart rate and sleep whilst analysing your fitness levels. You can sync workouts you or your personal trainer have created to the Band 2. It also has an OLED screen that displays the time and notifications from your smartphone. However with the thin display of the screen, longer notifications are not visible – making the Band 2 only suitable for fitness. Reports have also stated that the Band 2 is huge, chunky, inflexible and just uncomfortable to wear. Hopefully Microsoft fixes these issues with the Band 3!
Have a great weekend!
Ninetwenty – Part of the Finite Group
