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posted by martyb on Monday February 19 2018, @03:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the Google-knows-where-your-phone-is-better-than-the-phone-company-does dept.

Google conducts test to help 911 accurately locate callers

Google has conducted a trial to test the efficiency of using its technology to help 911 operators more accurately figure out the location of cellphone callers. The test included tens of thousands of 911 calls over the span of two months in several states, and had encouraging results, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The test was done in conjunction with two companies that have connections into 911 centers, West Corp. and RapidSOS. Under the current 911 system, wireless carriers are normally responsible for providing location information, but it isn't very accurate. 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 also dramatically shrunk the estimated radius of a call's location, from 522 feet down to 121 feet and arrived faster than carrier data.

Also at Engadget.


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  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday February 19 2018, @06:50AM (1 child)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Monday February 19 2018, @06:50AM (#639996) Homepage Journal

    "Emergency Dispatch. What are you reporting?"

    "I think I might be having a rhinoceros. Sorry, that should have been 'stroke'".

    I was experiencing aphasia.

    "Where are you?"

    "At Blanchet's House of Hospitality."

    "Can you give me a street address?"""

    "No."

    "How about a cross street?"

    I wandered around outside in the darkness until I managed to locate the names of the streets Blanchet's is on.

    I should not have had to do that. What if I really had a stroke? I would have been a dead man.

    Another:

    "Emergency dispatch. What are you reporting?"

    "A man is wandering around on Interstate 5 next to the Janssen Beach Safeway."

    "Where is Janssen Beach?"

    In Portland to not know where Janssen Beach is is much the same as not knowing where your own nose is.

    Even better:

    "What state is it in?"

    This led to my concluding that Portland 9-1-1 outsources its work to distant call centers.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday February 19 2018, @04:55PM

    by Freeman (732) on Monday February 19 2018, @04:55PM (#640145) Journal

    That's interesting. I was in a parking lot in a mall with my Father-in-Law and they knew where he was when he accidentally pocket dialed them. I think they hung up after a few minutes and called him back. They definitely knew where he was, though.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"