China's First Earthquake Early Warning System on Internet Screen Launched in Chengdu Hi-tech Zone

CHENGDU,China,June 10,2019 -- What will the combination of earthquake early warning technology and smart television bring to us? Recently,Chengdu Hi-tech Institute of Care-Life of China,which focuses on the research and development of earthquake early warning technology,has given the answer. On 22nd May,Chengdu Hi-tech Institute of Care-Life and Beijing Kuyun Interactive Technology Co.,Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement and officially launched China's first earthquake early warning system on the internet.

After the system is activatedand once an earthquake occurs,the large screen of the internet installed with Kuyun module will send an early warning before the arrival of theearthquake,reminding users to avoid risks and thus reducing casualties. Wang Tun,director of Chengdu Hi-tech Institute of Care-Life,believes thatthe earthquake early warning system will providerisk-avoiding information services to hundreds of millions of people.

In fact,the launching of the earthquake early warning system onthe internet screen is an extension of the existing television earthquake early warning service. Since the occurrence of the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan of Sichuan province,the earthquake early warning technology developed by Chengdu Hi-techInstitute of Care-Life and its partner has achieved breakthroughs in China's earthquake early warning technology from scratch,making China the third country in the world with earthquake early warning capabilities after Mexico and Japan.

Previously,users were able to receive earthquake early warning information on mobile phones and televisions through mobile apps and broadcast television networks equipped with earthquake warning systems. The cooperation will realize the "integration"of earthquake early warning system and the smart television.

Sichuan province,located in the southwest of China,is an earthquake-prone area. At the time of the 2008 devastating earthquake in Wenchuan,Wang Tun was working as a postdoctoral fellow in theoretical physics at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. After seeing the heavy casualties caused bythe earthquake,he chose to return to China and established the Institute of Care-Life in Chengdu Hi-tech Zone. On April 25,2011,the R&D personnel received the earthquake early warning signal for the first time by SMS. On April 15,2012,they opened the TV early warning function for the first time on TV where a window would automatically pop up and start thecountdown before the earthquake wave arrives.

On May 13,2019,World Meteorological Organization (WMO) hosted the "MHEWC-II" in Geneva,Switzerland. As the only representative speaker from China,Wang Tun introduced the progress made in China's multi-hazard early warning technological achievements during his keynote speech,which attracted the attention of representatives from more than 80 countries. "Multi-hazard early warning technology is one of the things that China is doing. Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory of Earthquake Early Warning and Chengdu Hi-tech Institute of Care-Life are also coordinating the resources of more universities to carry out technical research on integration of multi-hazard technology," Wang Tun expressed.

At present,Chengdu Hi-tech Institute of Care-Life announced that the TV earthquake early warning system has been extended to 13 cities and prefectures in Sichuan and covered 79 districts and counties which account for 60% of Sichuan earthquake areas.