A seismic signal is not a family response. Between the two are several decisions that must remain separate: receiving waveform data, detecting a candidate, deciding whether it is relevant, and asking a private circle one clear question.
Ready Together connects preparation and private coordination. On a calm day, a household can practice together and review one factual improvement. After a reported earthquake, an event-scoped check-in can preserve three honest states: no response, I'm okay, or I need help.
The SeedLink-to-check-in path is now operating. This article was originally published on September 13; this September 30 update replaces its earlier implementation status. Automatic activation uses a reviewed event and current circle relevance, never a detector candidate alone.
SeedLink carries waveforms, not answers
SeedLink is an open protocol for transferring seismic and environmental time-series data in near real time. Data centers and observatories use it to make continuous waveform streams available to clients. The protocol does not decide that an earthquake happened, estimate its impact, or tell a family what to do.
An independent detector consumes those streams, extracts candidate arrivals from individual channels, and groups compatible observations by time and distance. The output is only a technical candidate. It is not a confirmed earthquake, an official alert, or a prediction.
Where the data and analysis come from
The detector uses waveform streams made available through NSF National Geophysical Facility data services operated by EarthScope Consortium (NSF award 2435260). EarthScope distributes the streams; the seismic networks remain the data providers. Availability, continuity, and latency are not guaranteed, and this use does not imply an EarthScope or network endorsement of Ready Together.
The detector also adapts a bounded set of station and trigger components from the archived public GlobalQuake v0.11.0_pre-1 release under its MIT license. That attribution describes historical source code, not a relationship with the current GlobalQuake product, an authority, or an official warning system.
A detector candidate is not an earthquake report
Multiple channels can belong to one physical station. Channel counts, station coordinates, and detector confidence do not establish an event’s location or decide which families should receive a notification. An observation must be unambiguously correlated with a current event from a reviewed earthquake source.
Ready Together independently checks that event and its relevance to the circle’s saved areas. Displayed event facts come from the reviewed source. A station centroid does not become an epicenter, and a candidate does not supply an assumed magnitude. Ambiguous, stale, or unavailable evidence does not trigger a household check-in.
How the path works
- A detector receives near-real-time waveform streams through SeedLink.
- Compatible observations form a temporary candidate with explicit confidence and provenance.
- The observation is correlated with one reviewed earthquake event. Ready Together independently revalidates that event’s identity and current facts.
- A broad saved area—not someone's exact location—determines whether the context matters to a circle.
- An eligible event opens one private, event-scoped check-in; duplicate observations reuse that event rather than opening a second one.
- The backend sends a OneSignal notification to eligible circle members, inviting them to open the check-in and respond.
These stages are intentionally separate. A push cannot prove that an event is real, that a person read it, or that another person is safe. The backend state remains authoritative, and silence remains no response.
Detector candidates can be corrected, discarded, or expire. Reviewed event updates retain their source and identity, and existing member responses remain attached to that event. Detector output never confirms itself. The path operates within enabled country and area configurations; it does not imply worldwide coverage.
Why this is more than an earthquake notification
An earthquake feed can report what happened. A messaging app can carry a conversation. Ready Together connects that context to a private action: identify why an event matters to this circle, open one shared response space, and keep every person represented exactly once.
The critical action remains free. Ready Together does not charge someone to say I'm okay or I need help, and it does not collect exact location by default. It also does not contact emergency services.
Testing without sending a false earthquake prompt
Historical waveform recordings help exercise detector behavior in a controlled environment. Replays and synthetic fixtures remain diagnostic inputs; they must not send earthquake prompts to households.
We distinguish backend acceptance, push-service handoff, device display, notification open, and the person’s response. One stage does not prove the next. A delayed or duplicate notification must return to the same authoritative check-in without repeating a completed response.
What we will not claim
- No earthquake prediction or guaranteed warning before shaking.
- No official alert, authority affiliation, or guaranteed coverage.
- No replacement for instructions from official authorities.
- No confirmed earthquake from a detector candidate alone.
- No calculated magnitude or precise epicenter without reviewed evidence.
- No proof of safety, delivery, or assistance from a push notification.
The value is a shorter path from relevant information to one calm, private action: tell your circle how you are.
What would you need to see before trusting an automatic family check-in after an earthquake?
We are especially interested in false-positive, privacy, and notification-delay concerns.