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Barometers In iPhones Mean More Crowdsourcing In Weather Forecasts
cryptoz (878581) writes Apple is now adding barometers to its mobile devices: both new iPhones have valuable atmospheric pressure sensors being used for HealthKit (step counting). Since many Android devices have been carrying barometers for years, scientists like Cliff Mass have been using the sensor data to improve weather forecasts. Open source data collection projects like PressureNet on Android automatically collect and send the atmospheric sensor data to researchers.
That would be true if Android phones weren't YEARS ahead of Apple phones in terms of technology. Tomorrow's must-have feature on your iPhone is today's feature on even basic android phones. Your argument is still essentially "Because Apple does it, its now innovation and genius".
"Innovation" mostly has to do with getting people to buy or use something -- actually being the first person to invent or market the thing doesn't really carry any intrinsic benefit, follow-through and execution always trump good ideas. Ideas are cheap.
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No, it and of itself won't be meaningful. That's the crowdsource bit.
OK, for all of you that stare at the weatherperson and wonder what the funny lines are for: The column of air just above your head and extending to the top of the atmosphere has a mass that depends on a number of details. This fluctuates from minute to minute and, in fact, occurs in waves (those funny lines). Detailed information about the barometric pressure at any given location and time can be sent to a central station where that data is collected and displayed. The more (accurate) sensors that you have, the better detail and, presumably, the better quality of weather (not climate) forecasting.
Having lots of barometric pressure measurements attached to a device that can accurately determine location and time can be a useful source of data. For the National Weather Service, the National Security Agency and other fun TLAs. The utility for the weather service is obvious, for the NSA not so much but I believe it has to do with overall conductivity of aluminum foil, or something along those lines.
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