14 DAY TRIAL // Google has announced today that it created the Emergency Location Service in Android. This means that the smartphone will be able to send the user’s accurate location to emergency services when an emergency number is dialed.
The new feature will surely be life-saving in quite a lot of situations, since in a moment of crisis or panic, it’s not quite easy to describe one’s location or even find coordinates to communicate to emergency services.
Google has announced that over 70% of calls to emergency services come from mobile phones, nevertheless, locating the mobile callers could indeed represent an issue. In addition, current emergency solutions rely on assisted GPS or cell tower location, which is known to have a radius of up to several kilometers.
The post also reveals that the US Federal Communications Commission estimated that improved location accuracy could result in saving over 10,000 lives annually. Google’s Emergency Location Service in Android will be able to send the user’s location, determined by the same location technologies available for apps on the smartphone. These technologies include Wi-Fi, GPS, and cell towers so that the new feature works accurately both indoors and outdoors.
In case you were wondering, Google has also mentioned that the location is never seen or handled by the company itself and will be used only by emergency service providers. In addition, it is made available only when a call to emergency services is placed.
Google’s Emergency Location Service is supported by over 99% of Android devices through Google Play Services. What's more, it has started going live today in the UK and Estonia. The company intends to make this service available internationally.