Google has been silently testing out its new technology that helps 911 to track and locate the cell phone callers' exact location. This test was basically done to find out the efficiency of the company’s new tech and help the 911 emergency services. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the tests included several thousand 911 calls spread out across several states over a span of two months.
These tests were done in collaboration with two companies West Corp. and RapidSOS, these companies have tie-ups with 911 emergency service as they provide caller’s location information. According to The Verge report, “RapidSOS says that using Google’s technology, about 80 percent of the 911 calls had more accurate location data within the first 30 seconds.” Google’s data has been efficient in these tests and has shrunk the radius of call’s location from 522 feet to 121 feet, which is normally faster than carrier data's respective data.
According to The Wall Street Journal report, saving a minute in response times can save up to 10,000 lives a year. Improved location data can also help dispatchers in instances where the caller might not speak English, or in a state of panic, gives the wrong address. “We can validate what the caller is saying,” says Bob Finney III, director of communications for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in South Florida. “We’ve never been able to do that because it’s never been good enough.”
This Google’s efficient new technology is targeted to enter the US, this year and is already available in 14 countries.
