Smart Watches Trigger Emergency Calls To Festival Mosh Pits
The smart tech is fooled by vigorous dancing!
Smart watches equipped with impact and fall detection features have increasingly been associated with a significant rise in emergency service calls at festivals worldwide. For instance, during a recent dance music festival in Arizona, one of the stages was closed after emergency services advised this action due to a high volume of emergency alerts generated by attendees. This trend highlights the potential implications of wearable technology for public safety at large events.
In recent years, leading smartwatches have implemented advanced motion detection capabilities that allow them to identify significant events such as falls and car crashes.
However, these systems can sometimes misinterpret high-impact activities, such as those occurring in mosh pits or during vigorous dancing, as critical incidents. Notably, devices like the Apple Watch and Google Pixel Watch include a crash detection feature specifically designed to notify emergency services in the event of a severe car crash, enhancing user safety during such incidents.
Leicestershire Police have indicated that certain devices have played a substantial role in shaping their operational effectiveness in recent years, resulting in a notable rise in the volume of emergency calls. Typically, Leicestershire Police handle approximately 600 emergency calls during an average weekend. However, this number sees a significant surge, increasing by 700 calls over the three-day period of the Download Festival at Donington Park, scheduled from June 13th to 15th.
Be aware when wearing the devices at festivals.
Manufacturers are expected to release a software fix in the near future, as they recognise the importance of ensuring that their devices do not interfere with social events. Apple has stated that it is actively working on enhancing the accuracy of the crash detection feature to minimize the occurrence of false alerts.
Watch this space!⌚️
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