HP has made such a sensitive accelerometer that can detect a change in position equal to the thickness of a hair. The sensor is part of the CENS (Central Nervous System for the Earth), which aims to build a global network of sensors to measure everything into the environment.

The device is so sensitive that can detect even heartbeat. The source of this sensitivity is a 5 mm chip built on three layers of silicon. The middle layer is suspended between two other lines of silicon using highly flexible. Thus, the chip moves, the center suspended “left behind” due to inertia. By measuring approx movement is calculated speed, direction and distance.

While the project will CenNSE ecological implications, the first practical use of the accelerometer will be the petroleum industry. Shell will use the sensor to detect oil fields, which will streamline the extraction process.
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