With its new iPhone, Apple wants to save your life. This is the message that the brand wanted to convey when it announced, last September, the arrival of a traffic accident detection function. And if the latter has already been tested in unfortunately dramatic situations, the Californian company is facing an unexpected problem: it triggers the alert and the call for help in a simple roller coaster.
roller coasters
As reported by Wall Street JournalPatrons at the Kings Island amusement park in Ohio, United States, were surprised at the end of the attraction to discover numerous missed calls on their brand new iPhone 14, coming from the emergency room. And for good reason: the latter had mistaken the jolts of the roller coaster for a car crash.
To work, Apple’s car accident detection system is based on the accelerometer or gyroscope, sensors present in the iPhone, which allow the movements of the mobile to be detected. When the device detects a violent deceleration, combined with other factors (such as strong ambient noise), it can deduce the occurrence of a traffic accident. So many elements are also present in roller coasters that they seem to cheat the system.
When iPhone thinks an accident has occurred, it displays a message and plays a loud sound for the user to report. Without reaction, the iPhone calls the emergency services by emitting an automatic message, indicating an emergency and communicating its GPS coordinates.
Apple promises to improve the tool
the Wall Street Journal reveals that the only emergency department in Warren County, Ohio provided him with the recordings of six iPhone 14 (and iPhone 14 Pro) robocalls for Kings Island Park. With in one case, relief was sent to the place. Other similar alerts were reported at Six Flags Great America in Illinois.
Contacted by the US media, Apple recalls that the collision detection algorithm was perfected by analyzing more than a million hours of data related to car accidents, in real or laboratory conditions. The company claims to have gone to great lengths to minimize the risk of false positives, but promises to improve the tool.
To prevent future erroneous calls to emergency services, which will likely increase as iPhone 14 stock runs out, Apple may roll out a software update that incorporates updated algorithms. Or ask your customers to put iPhone in airplane mode before embarking on an exciting journey.
Source: BFM TV
