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Putting a Panic Button In Smartphone Users' Hands
theodp writes "If you own an Android phone, you may have inadvertently butt-dialed 911 from time-to-time. So, wonders Kix Panganiban, why don't our phones come with a universal 'Panic Button', that would make it just as easy to intentionally dial the police when it's truly needed? Panganiban envisions "a smartphone app that when triggered, would discreetly send out a distress message to contacts of your choice, and perhaps do some other functions that can get you out of bad (and maybe even life-threatening) situations." While a quick search reveals that some have taken a crack at apps that put a Panic Button in smartphone users' hands, are there good reasons why such a feature isn't just standard on mobile devices? And, with GPS and always-watching and always-listening tech only becoming cheaper and more ubiquitous, how far out in the future is it before your person can be continuously remotely monitored like your residence, even while mobile, and what might that look like?"
are there good reasons why such a feature isn't just standard on mobile devices?
Florida Woman Calls 911 After McDonald's Runs Out of McNuggets
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There are too many stupid people on this planet, and our emergency response people are already overworked without having to respond to McNugget shortages.
Pressing 4 times volume down, it would allow you to trigger an emergency sms. Such combination could work for a typical smartphone as well, including position information.
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To be useful, any panic button should be so easily accessible that it is open to the same accidental triggering as butt-dials. I can't think of a good way to resolve this issue, but it is something any proper app maker will have to deal with.
Who wants to be the first developer to get sued when your program doesn't dial 911 (perhaps because there is no signal)? Who wants to be the first developer sued because it got the location wrong?
Way too much liability potential. IT is too important a thing to mess up, and you can bet that something will mess up eventually, and the developer will be blamed, regardless of whether or not they are actually responsible.
Apparently people have already forgotten this has been done before. Before there were smart phones, there were just plain cell phones... tiny little indestructible bricks with flip-open LCDs. And it was thought that having a fast way to call 911, a panic button if you will, would be a useful feature. So pressing and holding '9' on these phones would connect you to emergency services.
This feature was redacted from all phones, everywhere, within a couple years, because it innundated emergency services with so-called "butt dials" and wrong numbers. You do not want '911' to be a one-button push on a mobile device. It ends badly.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
"Ok Google Now. Call 911."
In today's world, few people seem to recognize an emergency situation. When I was growing up, the word "emergency" meant that someone's life was in jeopardy. One or more lives were in danger from an avalanche, a runaway train, a mad dog, a bank robber - something serious. And, people understood that they should avoid such emergency situations, or deal with the situation themselves.
Today? As you point out, very stupid people think that it's an emergency when they can't get their Chicken McNuggets.
Preposterous.
I say we go back to dealing with our own little emergencies, and just call the cops to come clean up after the fact. After all, when seconds count, the cops are only minutes away! Let's just grow up, learn to avoid and/or deal with emergencies, and stop fretting over phone apps.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
"And, with GPS and always-watching and always-listening tech only becoming cheaper and more ubiquitous, how far out in the future is it before your person can be continuously remotely monitored like your residence,"
Why would you want it?
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
How would it tell an accident from a sudden stop without an accident? Or even being thrown?
Glance on my Pebble Smartwatch does this. I think a smartwatch is a much better place for a true "panic button". I mean, in a truly difficult situation you're going to have problems entering a passcode or pattern if you have your device locked... which you should, by the way.
In Glance there's a function that allows me to set a button long press to send an emergency text to the contact of my choice including my longitude and latitude (obviously only as precise as the smartphone itself can manage). Quite a nice feature in my opinion. And it's a lot easier to do a long press on a button on your wrist than fish your phone out of your pocket or purse, enter a passcode, find and launch an app and hit a button on the screen.
A physical panic button is the best solution. If you're in dire need (heart attack, accident etc) then you may not be in a position to use the app on the phone. The old "really dumb phones" like the Firefly had it right.
Phones should have a button on the home screen for lost and found, that lets the finder send a message. More useful than 911.
So, I'm visualizing here. "No, Joe, I don't want the phone to panic when I throw it against the wall." So, Joe picks Jim up, and throws HIM against the wall. Joe asks, "Do you want the phone to panic now, or not?"
Judgement call here, LMAO!
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
LifeCall: "I've fallen and I can't get up!"
What about Circle of 6:
http://www.circleof6app.com/
http://appsagainstabuse.challengepost.com/submissions/4900-circle-of-6
http://unfix.org
His argument seems reasonable enough to me. Getting something taken from you against your will is not a pleasant experience. It doesn't matter if it's a hobo taking it from you, or if it's a thug, or if it's a fast food restaurant, or if it's an investment banker. Theft is harmful, plain and simple. While I agree that it may not require an emergency dispatch of the highest priority, getting as-swift-as-possible police intervention against the perpetrator of the theft does sound just and reasonable. Calling 911 is often the best way to contact the authorities, and it should be up to the 911 dispatchers to prioritize the response based on the information they've received. I think it's quite crass of you to deny victims of theft, regardless of who the perpetrator is, the ability to seek help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmp5dgzeZuk
And have round corners.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
The panic button was the first "app" I wrote for my N900, and I use that term very loosely. Actually, just a one-liner using an existing python script:
python ssms.py NPANXXxxxx 'I''ve been kidnapped by aliens!'
A crude drawing of an alien saved as an icon file and an entry in the desktop icons directory and I had a text message panic button.
Naturally, I never tried adding the dialing of 911 in the script, for no other reason than testing it would call 911 and they don't like that.
I am not a crackpot.
I'm getting beaten. *Press panic button* *Wait 10 -15 minutes for the police to arrive.*
The police are there to write reports and do light investigation. They are not, and never were, a rapid response force, ready at a moment's notice to alleviate your panic.
The suggestion of panic buttons on phones is not only not helpful, it sends the problem further in the wrong direction. Some people will reason that since their phone has a panic button, they can take risks they might otherwise not.
Admittedly, it could be pretty intrusive, but I can envision certain situations where one might want to have someone "keeping an eye on you" for at least a short period of time: driving in bad weather, bad areas (ever have your GPS direct you to "take a shortcut" through a drug-dealing neighborhood or industrial area?), etc.
I'd be better if phones came with car crash detection instead. It's quite easy to do (subject moving a more than 20mph, sudden halt, huge haptic feedback on the sensor) and could save lives more than a panic button. Hell with Bluetooth enabled car, even air bag deployment could send a signal to a phone to enable GPS and call 911 automaticaly.
Wouldn't it be sufficient to put car-crash detection in cars themselves? And call it "On Star" or something?
I am not a crackpot.
Obviously, you have never heard of a rain check. The local vendor advertises a special of some sort - say, McNuggets for half price. He orders what he believes to be enough to meet demand at the lower price - but runs out. Generally, if you ask for a rain check, the manager will give you a rain check, giving you half price McNuggets on your next visit. He may even throw in a free Coke, for having inconvenienced you.
He hasn't taken anything FROM YOU after all. He made an offer, which was good for everyone who walked through the door, until he ran out of product. Unless he accepted cash money from you for the McNuggets, then failed to deliver those McNuggets which you had paid for, then he has taken nothing from you.
Stuff happens.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/ecall-automated-emergency-call-road-accidents-mandatory-cars-2015
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
Me: HELLO 911?
Op: What is your emergency sir?
Me: I AM HIDING IN MY CLOSET FROM THE GUY WHO KILLED MY WIFE AND IS RANSACKING MY HOUSE!
Op: Please quiet down, if you yell he'll hear you and find you.
Me: HOW ELSE CAN THE ASSHOLE POSTING ABOVE ME HEAR ME IF I DON'T SHOUT?
Seriously, though, I've always wondered why the hell it's taken 20+ years to be able to send texts to 911. At least when they finally get around to it, they'll be set up for MMS and you can send them the pic of the getaway car or whatever.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
It may not necessarily be as urgent as other types of emergencies, but theft is often considered important enough for responsive police action.
If people's lives are not in danger, it's not an emergency.
You can quite happily call the police on their normal number to report a theft.
So let's say that you're about to get thieved by a bunch of ghetto youth. They're talking in ebonics, and by the time you decipher what they're trying to say, they've shoved a gun in your back and have relieved you of your wallet, your keys, and the phone with the panic button.
While you have your hands up, point to your regular eyeglasses and say that they are Google Glasses, and have already transmitted pictures of them to the police. So they'd better just run away, before they get themselves into more trouble.
If you are not wearing regular eyeglasses, claim that you are wearing Google Contact Lenses.
That aside, you are correct, even if you did had time to call 911, by the time the cops got there, the crime would be history. Criminals are not afraid of 911. They plan to be gone, before the police get there. They are afraid of getting caught later. And they have seen enough CSI/Law & Whatevers to be afraid of cameras.
However, if your local police are tolerant of armed robbery, then the thieves won't be afraid of being caught anyway, and will go ahead and commit the crime. Crime prevention is really as simple as that. So instead of spending money on panic button technology, the money would be better spent on better policing. If a thief thinks he will get caught, he won't commit the crime.
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There are already several apps that do this. The way they work is you have to "arm" the app. Next, you trigger the emergency function in a preset way, for example by discreetly unplugging the headset from the headphone jack.
Having an always on emergency button would probably not work because it would lead to too many false alarms.
Skype doesn't support 911 calls because they can't be reliably traced ...and because they don't want to be held to collecting fees to pay for 911. There's nothing to be gained by playing this game, only losses. If your service connects 99% of the time, the media will descend like a pack of starving hyenas when (not if) a vulnerable person is let down by an imperfect system.
This is why we have inherently governmental functions, to do the unpopular/unprofitable things that the private sector won't take on.
Is the answer not obvious? IT'S JUST PLAIN A BAD IDEA THAT DOES NOT WORK IN THE REAL WORLD! That's why
This.
In a situation which gives you enough time to find the special app, you could also dial 911.
In other situations it won't make any difference.
Plus there's FAR too many stupid people out there who'll treat it like a free consultation line every time *anything* happens to them.
No sig today...
What would be nice is a BT interface (read-only of course) that can tell if car doors are opened. That way, if someone is going through a bad neighborhood, if a window is broken or one of the doors is opened before the person gets to the destination or deactivates the app, it is assumed that a carjacking happened, and the vehicle would either run for a bit and stall, or some other behavior.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-1-1
but i would bet that most carriers will redirect to 911 for any of the more common "others"
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Your focus on a single edge case has lead you to an erroneous conclusion.
You seem to forget, there are other services that are reached via 9-1-1... like the fire department and EMS, which *are* rapid response forces. You also seem to forget that there *are* times when the polices and sheriffs are a rapid response force, such as a major traffic accident, to support fire and EMS in the event of a large incident, responding to major robberies, etc... etc...
SafetyLINK - this is what Kix is looking for ? http://safetylink.org/ This solution is being crowdfunded on Indiegogo - http://igg.me/at/safetylink
My car dash app on my phone already does this..... And on another note, when my phone is locked all I have to press is emergency call then 911 and any other number I have allowed can be dialed with out having to unlock the phone. Simple and easy. I would like a way to quickly activate the microphone, start taking pics and recording GPS cords then upload then upload them to my server or a subset of them on different time intervals. Hell even make barking or siren noises. Guess I know have a weekend project. I like the idea of a panic, but it should have to be enabled, and be highly configurable. Maybe a special code on the lock screen. Or volume up and down X number of times, not just down 4 times. And butt dialing... WTF! There is no god damn excuse for it anymore. If you butt dial you should have your phone privileges revoked. End of story.
No one here have/had a baby? That button would be getting pressed a lot.
In other words, there is no reasonable expectation that the local vendor has an infinite supply of McNuggets.
Unless theft is in progress.
Because some phones are made with a "panic mode" where smashing a bunch of random buttons causes the phone to automatically dial 911. Of course your question was specifically about smartphones, which seems somewhat unlikely. You're more likely to butt-crack-the-screen.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
> could not differentiate between "nearly ran a red light" and did not run a red light
care to enlighten us?
Max.
How do you "butt-dial" on a capacitative touch screen? Doesn't there have to be some actual (almost) skin contact?
With physical buttons, I can see how it can happen, but with resistive touch screens it is already less likely...but with capacitative is seems extremely unlikely. Am I missing something?
Max.
...and there are already phones with panic buttons. See: https://www.snapfon.com/
Unless he accepted cash money from you for the McNuggets, then failed to deliver those McNuggets which you had paid for,
Which seems to be exactly what happened to the nugget lady mentioned in the second post. (Go and actually listen to the call) She paid for nuggets, then McDonalds told her they didn't have them but refused to refund the money. The refusal to refund the money seems to be the reason the lady called 911, and sure seems like theft to me.
Is this a 911 call? Maybe not. But as some people have already said, even when reporting minor thefts they were instructed to call 911.
Yes, I do.
If you leave your house with the door locked and come home to find it open, you call 911 while removing yourself from the the immediate vicinity.
First, a "panic" button already exists. It's called speed dial. Set it to dial 911 if you press and hold 1 for whatever amount of seconds is required. Second, at least around here, the PD gets the cell location info on a 911 automatically, and the address on a land-line. So from this standpoint this whole post is unworthy of being posted. My voice dial takes it a step further and assumes anything it doesn't understand is a 911 call. This makes it sooo much fun when I say call it it responds with "Calling 911". As for the calling 911 because you didn't get your nuggets. Really??? Does this really deserve discussion. How about we just act like adults. The whole world is going to hell and you're trying to justify stupid behavior. Try being a little less PC. Besides, it's not a criminal act to forget the nuggets, their omission would need to be deliberate. I doubt the people at McDonald's care enough about you to want to piss you off by doing this deliberately. Besides I've yet to see a McDonald's manager who, when dealt with reasonably, didn't just say "sorry here are your nuggets, and here's a coupon for some free one next time", or "sorry here's you money back". These stupid calls come from people who need to be noticed and think they are better than average and can't accept that like most people, myself included, the world will continue, you will live and die, without being noticed by all but a few, and being important to even less. Get over yourelve, just because one stupid person got a reality show doesn't mean you deserve one too.
bluetooth headphone dongle paired to phone. mapped mine so long push on stop button triggered wifi to signal local wifi network local site security where i was and that i had problem. long push play button and phone then did local wifi and phone to offices on and off site that i had serious problem and please send cavalry/coastguard/ghostbusters etc etc. mine was easy to do because i was a lone worker on a bt site and being bt they had a very good local wifi network of course and there was private security guards permanently on site but would be fairly simple to set up for routine visit sites and is still better than nothing if no local cover/aid available. with newer more powerful phone you can do a lot more now, such as use as a proximity dongle, better gps fixes, better voice command, more button mapping (one for coffee delivery)