Accident detection fails |
Roller coaster triggers iPhone emergency call
That was not what the inventor intended.
In early September, Apple proudly presented its automatic crash detection. In the event of accidents where the victim is no longer able to do so themselves, the smartphone takes over the emergency call. In this way, valuable minutes should be gained in critical situations.
In practice, the technology sometimes means too well. As the Wall Street Journal reported, since the launch of the iPhone 14, there have been several unfounded emergency calls in the US state of Ohio. The trigger was always the same: a roller coaster ride at Kings Island theme park.
For the Apple algorithms, the abrupt acceleration and braking processes could not be distinguished from the centrifugal forces of an accident. Since the owners didn’t respond to the iPhone’s warnings, the device assumed it was an emergency.
To prevent this from happening, the message “It seems that you are involved in an accident” is displayed on the cell phone or Apple Watch for ten seconds and there is still the chance to cancel the emergency call manually.
Because this didn’t happen, the emergency services received several calls, during which a computer voice said: “The owner of this iPhone was involved in a serious car accident and is not responding to his phone.” This was followed by the device’s GPS data.
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Since the ambient noise was also broadcast, and which often consists of screams on the roller coaster, an ambulance was unnecessarily sent to the amusement park in at least one case.
According to the report, Apple took note of the errors and promised to further improve accident detection. iPhone 14 users or owners of the latest Apple Watch generation should put their devices down long before the roller coaster ride.
A spokesman for the company also pointed out that there were also cases where the technology worked properly and would have helped in an emergency.