A new patent ensures that those from Cupertino are working on making accident detection more precise in their new devices.
The detection of accidents in the iPhone or in the Apple Watch to ask for help in an emergency is one of those very appreciated features on our devices.
At the moment, accident detection works on the iPhone 14 models and presumably also with the iPhone 15, and also with the latest versions of Apple’s smart watches.
This accident detection “is designed to detect serious car accidents, such as front, side and rear impacts, as well as rollovers, involving sedans, vans, SUVs, pickup trucks and other passenger cars,” says Apple itself.
They explain that when a serious car accident is detected with the iPhone or an Apple Watch, an alarm sound is emitted and an alert is displayed, also sending a message to the emergency services.
patentlyapple
Be that as it may, it is a functionality that has also received criticism for certain false alarms.
That is why Apple has issued a new patent application in which it is stated that they are working on improving the accident detectionspecifically, its precision, and for this they would rely on the use of multiple devices, including AirPods.
Apple comments that comparing the forces detected by the AirPods with those detected by an iPhone and an Apple Watch could generate a much more accurate alert.
As pointed out by patentlyapple:
“In an example of the wearable impact detection device, the head-mountable device may include an earpiece. The headset may include a second motion sensor, an antenna, and a second processor electrically connected to the second motion sensor and the antenna.”
“The second processor may identify a threshold motion detected by the second motion sensor and cause the antenna to send a signal that includes the second motion data. In one example, the signal is sent to the portable concussion detection device.”
“In an example, the portable concussion detection device may include a portable electronic device. In one example, the wearable electronic device comprises a smart watch. In an example, the portable electronic device may include a smartphone.”
It’s just a patent, but it’s clear that Apple is thinking of some way to make its crash detection functionality more accurate than it is now.