I'm confronted almost daily with situations
where people could have been rescued
but when you don't have the coordinates
finding them is impossible
and just comes down to luck.
LIFELINES
26 September 2018
Andi Gremmel completed his 300th ascent of Mt. Schneeberg
the tallest peak in the Lower Austrian Alps.
I just had a gliding accident.
I can hardly hear you.
Hello?
I received the information that a paraglider had crashed.
Thomas Schnalzger Emergency Call Centre Operator
Without further information
it would have taken hours to find this person.
Christian Steiner Helicopter Pilot
As the sun goes down
it gets ice cold.
A person could freeze to death
even in the summer.
Many of us carry a smartphone
with very accurate location technology
but we realised, in an emergency
that location wasn't being sent to emergency responders.
Maria Garcia Puyol Senior Software Engineer, Google
So we saw an opportunity to help a lot of people.
In 2016, Android and EENA launched a new service
that sends a caller's location directly to emergency services.
In Andi's case, I received his location
with the aid of this new technology.
His position was accurate to 6 metres.
The moment that you realise you can help someone
the feeling is indescribable
because that is the purpose of it all
the reason why you do this
why you take certain risks yourself.
It's an incredible moment
the first time you hear the stories
about how location technology is helping real people.
It's a privilege to help people in distress
and that's why we want to make it available
for more people out there.
Android Emergency Location Service
has been activated by more than 20 countries worldwide
and helps first responders locate over 2 million calls a day.
Google