The iPhone 14’s new Crash Detection feature is calling emergency services to report car accidents when its users are actually just riding rollercoasters.
Crash Detection automatically dials 911 (in the US) when it detects an iPhone 14 user has been in a car accident and plays an automated message that alerts authorities they’ve been in a crash, and gives their location.
According to the Wall Street Journal, emergency workers have been sent to various theme parks after the feature mistook the various accelerating, braking, twists, and flips of a rollercoaster for a car accident.
https://twitter.com/JoannaStern/status/1579106766704369667
Apple claims it used over one million driving hours to perfect Crash Detection.
The feature uses a number of different elements: a high g‑force accelerometer senses extreme accelerations or decelerations up to 256Gs; a high dynamic range gyroscope monitors drastic changes in a car’s orientation; the barometer can detect pressure changes caused by deploying airbags; and the microphone identifies the extreme sound levels of a collision.
Clearly this isn’t foolproof, and in fact, may indirectly put lives at danger by tying up emergency worker on fools’ errands.
