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Digital Planet: Predicting cyclones with mobiles

Factual: Science & Nature

Cyclone--CROP.jpg

06/12/2022 GMT

Predicting cyclones with mobiles

BBC World Service - Digital Planet, Predicting cyclones with mobiles

Scientists are using mobiles to create a virtual supercomputer to model cyclones.

Scientists are using mobiles to create a virtual supercomputer to model cyclones. The Fediverse - what is it and why do we need it? App that helps you buy medicines if you’re blind

Due to climate change cyclones are increasing in frequency and intensity.  Data available to study these weather phenomena though is quite scare, so a new project at Imperial College in London, hopes to harness the computing power of people’s mobile phones to create a virtual supercomputer and create a massive public database of simulated cyclone models to help predict future events.  Professor Ralf Toumi, Co-Director of Grantham Institute, is leading the project and is on the show.  Listeners are being invited to take part by downloading the Dreamlab app to help process the billions of calculations needed for the project. 

What is the Fediverse?
If you’re on twitter then you’ve probably heard of Mastodon, you may even have moved onto it. It’s the largest service on what is known as the Fediverse.  We speak with Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Freedom Foundation to find out what the Fediverse is and why we should be part of its growth.  It’s not a single social media platform like Twitter or Facebook.  It’s an growing network of entwinned social media sites and services that you can interact with even if you don’t have an account for each one.  The big difference here is that the Fediverse isn’t owned by big tech giants or multibillionaires – Cindy Cohn argues “You don’t fix a dictatorship by getting a better dictator. You have to get rid of the dictator. This moment offers the promise of moving to a better and more democratic social media landscape.” 

An app that helps you buy medicines if you’re blind
The tiny print on medicine packet instructions is hard to read for many people, and for those people with low literacy skills, learning disabilities like dyslexia, impaired sight or who are blind it can be impossible.  Now the Seeing AI app – a joint project between Haleon and Microsoft-  has been upgraded to be able to read out loud the detailed information on more than 1500 products across the UK and US.  Our reporter Fern Lulham has been testing out the new functionality of the app.



The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson.

Studio Manager: Tim Heffer
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Image: Getty Images)

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