Smartphone MEMs adapted to create affordable gravimeters

Researchers from Glasgow University have adapted technology found in smartphones to make a small but powerful gravimeter.

According to the University, affordable, portable gravimeters could have a wide range of applications, including volcano monitoring, environmental surveying, and oil exploration. The research is detailed in a paper titled ‘Measurement of the Earth tides with a MEMS gravimeter’ and published in Nature.

Gravimeters measure the gravitational field of the Earth and the commercial availability of the devices has seen them employed in the oil and gas industry to discover fossil fuel deposits. However, the widespread uptake of gravimeters has been limited due to cost and size.

Dubbed Wee-g, the new device uses the same micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) that are used in smartphones’ internal accelerometers. While the MEMS technology in phones uses relatively stiff and insensitive springs to maintain the orientation of the screen relative to the Earth, Wee-g employs a silicon spring ten times thinner than a human hair. This allows Wee-g’s 12mm-square sensor to detect very small changes in gravity.