An unconscious man in Morrow, Georgia, was rescued by emergency medical services amid a cold snap on the U.S. East Coast after his Apple Watch detected his fall and alerted the local police. Examples of life-saving features built into smartwatches.
On January 23, 2022, an elderly resident fell outside his home, Atlanta CB546 news network reported. His watch detected the fall, and in the absence of a response from the device that he was fine, the Apple Watch alerted the Clayton County Emergency Communications Center.
“Because the call was initiated by the Apple Watch, the location of the call could only be determined by the watch’s GPS, which reported the nearest address,” said Morrow City Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeff Moss. “Staff arrived at the scene with the Moro police force and quickly noticed that the actual address was not where the patient was, and began a perimeter search.”
The man was found nearby, said to be semi-conscious and delirious, and it took just 12 minutes from the time his Apple Watch called for help until the man was found.
He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and later recovered, with extreme cold and unspecified ongoing medical conditions meaning the outcome would undoubtedly have been worse without the Apple Watch.
The January 2022 incident is just the latest in a long line of similar incidents, including one in November 2021 where an 85-year-old’s life was saved in Otaway.