Google has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their Loss of Pulse Detection feature on Pixel watches.
According to an announcement on 26 February, this means a Google Pixel watch can call 911 when it detects a drop in the wearer’s pulse.
For now, the feature is available only on Pixel Watch 3, but will be available to more models soon.
How it works
The new watch feature is the first of its kind that can detect the wearer’s pulse and automatically place a call to ask for help.
Known as the Loss of Pulse Detection, the feature jumps into action in a situation where the heart stops beating from an event like primary cardiac arrest, respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose or poisoning.
Ideally, a witness is required to contact the authorities in case of any of these incidents, but the watch plays this role while ensuring there are no false alarms.
Once it suspects a loss of pulse, infrared and red lights are also on, looking for additional signs of a pulse, while the motion sensor starts to look for movement.
When a loss of pulse is confirmed by an AI-based algorithm which brings together the pulse and movement signals, the watch then triggers a check-in to see if the user responds while looking for motion.
If there’s no response and no motion is detected, it escalates to an audio alarm and countdown.
If the wearer doesn’t respond to the countdown, the LTE watch or phone to which it is connected automatically places a call to emergency services, and shares an automated message that no pulse is detected along with the location.
The feature has been in operation in 14 countries but only got approval from the U.S. FDA now.and will start rolling out in March.
Other features that Pixel watches use to make users’ lives better are Car Crash Detection, Fall Detection, Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications and the ECG app and Safety Check.
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