“On March 6, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple titled ‘Mobile Emergency Attack and Failsafe Detection,'” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “In 2009 Apple invented the iPhone emergency-mode processor and today, Apple is advancing the services that they could build into this system.”
Purcher reports, “Apple’s invention generally relates to the iPhone and in particular to techniques for the iPhone to detect probable emergency situations automatically and to help in automatically requesting aid for those potentially involved in emergency situations.”
“As in certain other embodiments of the invention,” Purcher reports, “in response to determining a probable emergency situation such as an automotive collision, the device can automatically make a telephone call to emergency services and/or emit an alarm in an attempt to attract any nearby people who might be capable of rendering aid.”
Much more, including Apple patent application illustrations and diagrams, in the full article here.
Danger Will Robinson!
Wil
If it works it could be handy for seniors with health issues. If you have an accident in some remote area, it makes sense. For robberies or assaults, it’s a little iffier. I can’t see the police using resources to answering smart phone emergency signals for help.
Though it would be neat if Apple could get Siri to call 911 and actually speak an emergency message. Maybe we’ll see that in a hundred years or some future movie. 🙂
“I can’t see the police using resources to answering smart phone emergency signals for help”.
–not if they won’t make their quota for issuing tickets. Most municipalities hire cops and they immediately go out on their “tax collection duties”.
They are quick to write a ticket, but to write an accident report or respond to a real emergency, not so much. — but if they can draw their gun like the true super hero they believe they are, then that’s a different story. Why else did they become a cop? Certainly not to tell their grandkids they wrote tickets for 30 years!
The last time you were pulled over, do you believe the guy driving next to you thought you were such a threat? No? So why did the cop pull you over if the people driving next to you saw no “threat”?
….don’t get me started…..
Use WAZE and fight back–even though Google bought the company.
Expect the emergency nature of this patent will go into the M7 chip which will end up as the heart of the iWatch.
Here’s a glimpse of what biometrics can be done with a couple of flat sensors. Gives you blood pressure, oxygen level, heart rate, temperature, resparation and even an EKG. If Wello can do it expect the iWatch can do it. Amazing!
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/06/wello-health-tracking-case-iphone/
Behold the smartphone, getting smarter all the time, as Apple begins to assemble a limbic system for Siri. We needn’t worry about her taking over the world until after they work out a system for rational thought. By then, Cortana will already be in charge. Looking forward to an epic battle in about 300 years.
Couple this with the iWatch and it’s embedded health sensors, and you’ve got a big hit with seniors and anyone with health issues.
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!!!