Published 06:03 IST, November 2nd 2019
Apple watch saves James Prudenciano's life with fall detection feature
In yet another incident of an Apple Watch saving a human being's life, a 28-year-old man hailed the smartwatch for saving his life after he fell over a cliff
In yet another incident of an Apple Watch saving a human being's life, a 28-year-old man hailed the smartwatch for saving his life after he fell over a cliff and on to a rock, fracturing his back that in turn led the smartwatch detecting the fall and automatically dialling 911.
The "fall detection" feature
According to reports, James Prudenciano went hiking with his date, Paige Paruso, in Hartshorne Woods Park when they lost their way in the woods and suddenly fell trough leaves and over a steep cliff. In addition to this, James fell over a rock and broke his back while Paige did not suffer any injury after falling into the river. Prudenciano's fall led to the "fall detection" feature being activated in the Apple watch.
While speaking to a local media outlet, James said that he was continuously screaming because he thought that he was going to die. He also added that he had already said his last goodbyes to his loved ones.
According to the police officials, both James and Paige were taken to a pier via a boat after which they were taken to the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment.
A feature in Apple 4 and 5 series watches
The "fall detection" feature is available in the Apple Series 4 and Series 5 smartwatches with the latest accelerometer and gyroscope. Custom algorithms have been structured to make use of data from sensors and then analyze the direction in which the wrist of an individual will move so that the watch can analyze if someone has had a hard fall or not.
'Hard fall' alert
If such an incident takes place, a 'hard fall' alert is sent to the Apple watch and if the person wearing the watch is detected to have been lying motionless for 60 seconds, then the watch automatically dials 911 and sends a message along with the location to the concerned individual's emergency contacts. Apple has automatically enabled the much talked about feature for people over 65 years of age.
Updated 06:04 IST, November 2nd 2019