By+Gary+Marshall+译/阿诺

Today's smartphones are blank canvases1）： manufacturers provide the hardware， and we turn them into magical machines with apps that transform them into musical instruments or game consoles2）， business machines or cat video players.

But it turns out we're only scratching the surface. Who knew that smartphones make pretty good satellites？ Here are nine uses for smartphones the makers probably didn't imagine.

如今的智能手机宛如空白的画布：手机制造商提供硬件，我们通过加载不同的应用程序将它们变成各路神器，使它们既可化身为乐器或游戏操纵机，也可用于商务办公，还能播放猫咪视频。

但事实证明我们对智能手机的认识还停留在表面。有谁知道智能手机还可以成为相当不错的卫星呢？下面这九种智能手机的用途恐怕手机制造商们当初也没想到。

Smartphones forecasting the weather

智能手机预报天气

Networking expert OpenSignal has discovered something interesting： the sensors in Android phones designed to measure battery temperature， light， pressure and so on can be used to generate surprisingly accurate weather reports.

Get enough phones involved and you've got a weather sensing network. Today the data just reports， but prediction is the logical next step.

专业的网络公司OpenSignal有个有趣的发现：安卓手机上内置的为测量电池温度、光照强度、气压和其他参数而设计的传感器可以用来生成准确得惊人的天气报告。

使足够数量的手机参与其中，你就有了一个天气感应网络。今日还只是播报数据，但预报是合乎逻辑的下一步。

Smartphones powering satellites

智能手机驱动卫星

In February 2013， a Google Nexus One went into orbit—not in an astronaut's pocket， but as the brains of the STRaND-1 satellite.

A joint project between the University of Surrey's Space Centre and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited， the smartphone-powered "Nano satellite" will run experimental apps to collect data from space.

2013年2月，谷歌的一部Nexus One手机进入了太空轨道——可不是在航天员的口袋里，而是作为STRaND-1卫星的计算中枢。

作为萨里大学航天中心和萨里卫星科技有限公司的合作项目，这个由智能手机驱动的“纳米卫星”将会运行一些实验性的应用程序来收集太空数据。

Detecting chainsaws3） may sound like a novelty app， but it's a serious business： in Indonesia， the non-profit organisation Rainforest Connection wants to use donated Android phones to detect illegal logging4）.

As New Scientist reports： "The phones are outfitted with solar panels5） specifically designed to take advantage of the brief periods when light reaches the forest floor. Their microphones stay on at all times， and software listens for the telltale6） growl of a chainsaw， which triggers an alert."

“电锯侦探”也许听上去像是个新奇的应用程序，但这是件严肃的事情：在印度尼西亚，一个名为“雨林家族”的非营利组织想要使用人们捐赠的安卓手机来监测非法采伐。

据《新科学家》杂志报道：“这些手机都装有特别设计的太阳能电池板，能够利用阳光照射雨林地表的短暂时间充电。所有手机的麦克风一直保持开启状态，软件在监听到泄露电锯形迹的轰鸣声后，就会发出警报。……