The 911 emergency number was originally created in 1968, long before anyone could have predicted how cell phones would reshape its usage. Even today, dispatchers struggle to identify callers' precise whereabouts to dispatch aid—but Google may be about to change that.
The tech giant has been experimenting with using the same location technology that powers Google Maps to assist emergency services. According to the Wall Street Journal, during a trial period spanning December 2017 and January 2018, geolocation data from a subset of Android phone 911 calls was transmitted directly to operators.
At present, carriers determine a device's location by triangulating its distance from multiple cell towers, a method that lacks precision. The study revealed that Google's data produced an average location estimate radius of 121 feet, while carrier data averaged 522 feet.
Currently, it's up to the operator to extract the exact location where responders are needed from the caller. Given that callers may be panicked or in unfamiliar surroundings, this can be a challenging task.
In such scenarios, even a modest improvement in response time can save lives. Research from the Federal Communications Commission indicates that up to 10,000 lives could be saved each year if emergency response times were shortened by just one minute.
Google has possessed the capability to offer this service for a while—it was launched in the U.K. and Estonia in July 2016, as reported by Ars Technica. Many people are uneasy about allowing their smartphones to track their location, but in emergency situations, the advantages are clear.
