iPhone 14 Pro’s Car Detection triggered during rollercoaster ride: This is what Apple has to say – Times of India

Crash Detection is one of the key features of iPhone 14 series. It is aimed to help detect major collisions and help the victims get timely help. The technology relies on the sensors in the phone. A recent report claimed that iPhone 14 Pro user’s Crash Detection feature was triggered during a roller coaster ride. This made several question the utility of the feature. Apple has responded to the incident and said that there is no silver bullet in terms of activating crash detection.
Crash Detection triggered on rollercoaster
Recent reports suggested that the Crash Detection feature triggered at occasions when there was no emergency. Out of several reports, the one that got the most attention was the one in which it was mentioned that an iPhone 14 Pro user took a rollercoaster ride and the feature mistook it for an accident.
The phone automatically contacted the emergency response service – exactly like it is designed to do – only to find later that there was no emergency. This led to huge criticism of the efficiency of the feature.
“No silver bullet…”: Apple’s take
Two Apple executives – vice president, Sensing & Connectivity, Ron Huang, and vice president, Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, Kaiann Drance – told TechCrunch how the feature works and that “there is no silver bullet in terms of activating crash detection.” The duo explained the working of the Crash Detection feature. They said that feature has mostly to do with a new gyroscope and accelerometer which detect G Force up to 256 Gs.
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Explained: Apple iPhone 14 Car Crash detection feature and how it works
The executives explained that the feature uses a combination of sensors. Apart from gyroscope and accelerometer, there is GPS to determine that the user is travelling at high speeds, the microphone to monitor for the sounds of a crash and the barometer, which detects the change in pressure that occurs when airbags are deployed.
“It’s hard to say how many of these things have to trigger, because it’s not a straight equation. Depending how fast the travelling speed was earlier, determines what signals we have to see later on, as well. Your speed change, combined with the impact force, combined with the pressure change, combined with the sound level, it’s all a pretty dynamic algorithm,” Huang explained.
This somewhat explains why the phone called emergency services when the iPhone 14 Pro user was on the rollercoaster ride. The phone detected speed change and force when the rollercoaster would have moved at varied speeds during the full ride, pressure change as well as sound level (which probably includes the sound of the rollercoaster and screams of other users).
The Cupertino-based giant said that it worked with various crash labs to gather data and perform real-world testing. This data was used to assure an acceptable level of efficacy for the feature. It also highlighted that real-world crashes are difficult to simulate, “particularly ones that can check off the necessary boxes.”