The police informed about the fall detection of Smartwatches.
©Vorarlberg Police, Canva Pro
Emergency calls are being made more and more often because smartwatches recognize falls and automatically call 112.
Winter sports enthusiasts are currently romping around on the slopes, even if the conditions are not ideal. Again and again there are emergency calls after alpine accidents. The police are now turning to all users of smartwatches in this context.
Auto emergency call via smartwatch
“Lately, there have been more emergency calls (Euronotruf 112), which are triggered by smartwatches due to fall detection,” informs the Vorarlberg police. This is my function as the manufacturer. As soon as the smartwatch detects a serious fall, an alarm is triggered and sometimes the European emergency number 112 and the saved emergency contacts are contacted.
An emergency call can trigger a large-scale search operation.
©Police Vorarlberg
False alarms can be expensive
“In itself a good function that can sometimes help,” said the police. “But it can also happen that the watch recognizes a fall, but it is not an emergency situation.” This can lead to false or unnoticed emergency calls, as the executive informs: “If there is no reaction and the watch does not stop the alarm by pressing the crown or the “I’m fine” button, the alarm will be triggered and in the further course, The Euro emergency number is contacted and the position data is communicated to the police and sent to the emergency contacts via SMS.” The police made it clear that this could trigger large, cost-intensive search operations: “In the event of a false alarm, fees are charged that are imposed on the owner.”
It can happen that a skier wears a smartwatch under their ski clothing and doesn’t even notice that it has reported a fall.
© Symbolic picture: Philipp Steurer
Deal with function
The police advise finding out in advance whether your own smartwatch has this function. “If so, deal with the function and, if necessary, make changes to the settings that suit you and your activities,” said the Vorarlberg police. “Assess whether you really need this function in your activities and turn it on or off!”
Manufacturer information about function
The manufacturers of smartwatches, for example Apple and Samsung, provide information about the function and how to use it. “If the Apple Watch detects that you are moving, it waits until you react to the message,” says Apple, for example. “It doesn’t automatically call emergency services. If the Apple Watch detects that you haven’t moved for about a minute, it will automatically place the call.”
