Earthquake Early Warning System Pioneered in Japan

Tomo Hiratsuka writes "After recent destructive earthquakes around the world, Japanese scientists have come up with an earthquake early-warning system that uses sensors and various technologies, including iPv6, to provide up to a minute's warning, which could make a lot of difference, especially in the event of a tsunami. Bizarrely, one of the warning methods even involves networked photocopiers, believe it or not."

Comments

Networked photocopiers?

[Anonymous Coward]

Photocopier 1: Uh oh, paper appears to be jittering about in the scanning area.
Photocopier 2: Yeah, I noticed that too, but I thought it was the fatty going to the vending machine again!
Vending Machine: He's always pressing my buttons!
Photocopier 1: Do we think there'll be an earthquake?
Photocopier 3: Hmm, better warn people. Bum, some c*nts downloading pr0n again and the networks really slow.
Photocopier 2: I'll do it!

Oh, reading the article it works the other way around as a fast office-notification warning system. That's not nearly as interesting.

Xerox to the rescue

[Ravenscall]

Bizarrely, one of the warning methods even involves networked photocopiers, believe it or not."

But is it a beowulf cluster?

Proven Technology

[EMeta]

I'm just impressed that the engineers thought to use what is always the office's most reliable appliance, the copying machine. Because if you need one device that's not going to break--why go anywhere else?

Re:Buzzword Bingo?

[Monkeys!!!]

Yeah, they could of just said it was a synergy network that combines dynamic paper producers to predict earth based movements.

It all worked so well until...

[rocjoe71]

It all worked so well until the day after the office Christmas party and the photocopy machines were churning out image after image of "cracks" and fissures in the Earth's surface.