Your next copper top could be your kid texting their friends about what a great parent you are for not letting them go to that heavy metal band concert last night..

HP Labs announced the development of a new accelerometer sensor that is 1,000 times more sensitive than those used in current mass-produced devices such as the iPhone and many others. The sensor was built as part of the company's CeNSE (Central Nervous System for the Earth) research program, which intends to build a global sensing network to measure and track changes in a wide range of things around the world.

The idea behind the program is that having more advanced and ubiquitous sensors will lead to an information ecosystem that aids better decision making, lower energy use, and more efficient use of resources. The first commercial application for HP's technology will be a wireless seismic sensor network that Shell Oil will use to detect underground oil reserves and drill more efficiently.