Sunshine: Using smartphones as atmosphere observation sensor

[Cumulonimbus_Ca]

Hi all.

I've been working on this idea for the last 3-4 years and finally have something to show for it: a private beta at https://thesunshine.co. I've been making apps that use the barometer inside Android and iPhones to collect a new data source that can be assimilated into weather models. I currently have about 300,000 people contributing to the network using my old system called PressureNet, which was Android-only, and, well, a pretty nerdy citizen science app.

One thing that I've learned is that 300,000 people is nowhere near enough to make this weather observation network as dense as it needs to be. The quality control systems that operate on the data require significant density, as many of the phones report data that is too noisy to use.

So I'm making another app, called Sunshine. This app is SO MUCH BETTER than my previous efforts, and I'm hoping we'll be able to get millions of barometers connected over the USA in our network. This app will be for iPhone, since the new iPhones have barometers in them. We're in private beta right now, and if you'd like to join you can at https://thesunshine.co.

I'm looking for feedback on this idea and these apps. I think that there is a potential revolution here, in forecast accuracy, if we can get this off the ground. Thanks for listening, and I'm excited for feedback on this.

Edit: If you want a bit more info, here is an article in the MIT Technology Review about Sunshine, from a few months ago: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/53 ... forecasts/

[brunota2003]

Lucky for me, I upgraded to an iPhone 6 in May, my old 4s met the concrete for the 50th time and the display busted (yet it didn't even scratch, let alone crack or break, the glass screen...hmph). Don't think I can be of too much help here in my little valley in the wilds of eastern KY, I don't even know if there are 3 iPhones within a square mile of me, let alone 3 that'll eventually have the app! But I'll still download it and use it!