VolcanoTech uses everyday smartphones to track volcanic sulphur dioxide, which is a critical early warning sign of eruption
Existing monitoring systems are financially out of reach for many of the communities most at risk in regions within the Global South
With monitoring systems now active across Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Indonesia, and the USA, VolcanoTech is helping to protect residents most at risk of potentially deadly volcanic eruptions
Every day smart phones are being used to assist with forecasting volcanic eruptions in the world's most at-risk communities, at a fraction of the cost of conventional systems.
Existing monitoring systems are financially out of reach for many of the communities most at risk of volcanic eruptions in areas of the Global South.
But now, a University of Sheffield spinout company is harnessing the technology inside mobile phones to track early warning signs of eruption - something that could save millions of lives across the world.
VolcanoTech, co-founded by Dr Tom Pering from the University of Sheffield, uses modified smartphone cameras and small, affordable Raspberry Pi computers to measure sulphur dioxide (SO2), a gas whose rising levels can signal an imminent eruption. Monitoring SO2 can be the difference between a timely evacuation, and a catastrophic disaster.
There are more than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide and over 500 million people live within range of an eruption. Around 75 percent of Earth's active volcanoes are concentrated along the 'Pacific Ring of Fire', where populations in developing nations like Indonesia, the Philippines and Central America face the greatest risk, but lack access to the expensive monitoring networks used elsewhere.
VolcanoTech's kit addresses this gap directly. By building monitoring systems from affordable, commercially available components, the company can provide high-quality data to communities and research teams who would otherwise go without.
Dr Tom Pering, Co-Founder and CEO of VolcanoTech and Senior Lecturer in Volcanology at the University of Sheffield, said: "What really excites me about this project is that we're not a traditional tech company. We're not purely driven by profits and income. So, while under the hood we may look like a tech company who's developed some exciting kit, we're doing this with a purpose. It's motivated by helping people."
The company, which is the first spinout from the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Social Sciences, incorporated in January 2026 and has moved quickly. In just four months, it secured £40,000 in investment and made two new hires, adding to equipment the team had already installed at volcanic sites across six countries over the past four years.
A key part of VolcanoTech's approach is ensuring the communities they work with can operate the technology independently. Rather than installing equipment and moving on, the team works closely with local people to train them to use, monitor and maintain the systems themselves.
Dr Pering continues: "It's a really big thing for us that we're not going in and putting the kit in and then just taking it away again. We work really closely with local people, teaching them how to use it, monitor it, and maintain it so they can be largely independent, and just get our support if they need it.
"The cost is a huge part of what makes that possible. We modify sensors, which cost around £30, to detect the UV wavelengths we need, and build those into a full volcano UV camera for around £7,000 in parts. A comparable commercial system could cost at least £21,000. This huge saving is what opens the door to communities that may otherwise be left without any gas monitoring at all."
With cameras already positioned at volcano sites in Ecuador, Chile, Mexico, the US and Indonesia, VolcanoTech is now planning to take its systems to new sites in Costa Rica and Argentina over the next 12 months. To the best of the team's knowledge, VolcanoTech is currently the only company in the world that deals exclusively with the volcanic monitoring market.
The company has been supported throughout by the University of Sheffield's Commercialisation Team, which has provided tailored seminars, discussion sessions and one-to-one mentorship to help the team navigate the transition from academic research to commercial enterprise.
Reflecting our commitment to independent thinking and a shared ambition, the work conducted by VolcanoTech demonstrates how creative minds at Sheffield are shaping solutions to global challenges.
