Apple responds to why junkyard crash tests
Apple responds to why junkyard crash tests don’t always trigger iPhones’ Crash Detection. Apple’s newly released iPhone 14 models are equipped with sensors and technology that may determine whether its owners have been in a vehicle accident. Next, the iPhone will ask whether it should summon emergency services, and if the user doesn’t react, it will do so automatically.
The derby vehicle was outfitted with a driver’s Apple Watch Ultra, a 14-inch iPhone, and a Google Pixel. A stopped garbage car was supposed to be driven into, and an iPhone 14 Pro Max and a Pixel 6 were put inside. It was tested by having a derby vehicle (operated by a professional derby driver) collide with the parked vehicle to observe which sensors went off in the event of a crash.
Wall Street Journal reporter Joanna Stern and a demolition derby driver in Michigan worked together to see whether they could activate the new iPhone’s safety function.
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Apple responds to why junkyard crash tests don’t always trigger iPhones’ Crash Detection
The gadget must be located inside a moving vehicle for Crash Detection to function. According to WSJ, functionality is the result of an algorithm that considers several variables. GPS readings can detect sudden decelerations in a moving vehicle (or detect that it is in a vehicle at all).
In contrast, motion sensors can detect sudden changes in motion, microphones can pick up on loud sounds like the impact of the crash, the barometer can pick up on changes in air pressure when airbags deploy, and the CarPlay and Bluetooth status can more clearly signal whether the device is actually in a vehicle.
Both Google and Apple’s crash detection systems have some limitations. Under the Crash Detection option on new iPhones is a warning that states the same thing. Devices must first recognize that they are mounted on a moving vehicle, which may need any combination of the above signals. Crash detection technologies on smartphones have the potential to save lives in the case of an accident, but we certainly hope that no one ever has to use one.
