Will the new iPhone make PLBs obsolete?

[futurafree]

I think Apple sponsored this recent crash off a cliff just for the publicity headlines. Pretty sure the "woman in a white Mercedes" whose aggressive honking caused the crash was just Tim Cook in a wig.

 

[Rockskipper]

Interesting article, a quote:

"Defective crash technology isn’t totally new to TCSAR. Several years ago, OnStar presented the same issue and more recently a tracking app called Life360 did too. Due to its inaccurate callouts, TCSAR had to make the tough decision to no longer respond to calls from those sources.

“If [the Apple tech] continues to become a problem, we’re going to have to do what we did with the Life360 app. We will just have to say we can’t take these calls.”

According to Carr, the tech has put a huge burden on dispatchers. It presents the same question over and over: How exactly do they know when to ring the bell?"

Apple's new crash detection tech 'a headache' for Search and Rescue

Apple's new crash detection tech has triggered numerous accidental callouts for TCSAR costing the team significant time and resources.

buckrail.com

 

[Bob]

Too much reliance on tech to solve the problem of no or little common sense

 

[RyanP]

Too much reliance on tech to solve the problem of no or little common sense

True, but it's also common sense to use the tech available to help make you more safe. This includes map, compass, proper traction and insulation, etc... and in many situations, a PLB or inreach or the like.

 

[Bob]

Many sar responses are from people who have no clue and think they will come save me.... NO common sense and rely on their phone for security....

 

[futurafree]

Not to be outdone, upcoming Samsung phones will have satellite phone capabilities built into their chip. Not just texting, but actual phone calls.
Seems like you could just ask ChatGPT which hikers are likely to get into trouble and it could run its algorithms to point you directly to their most likely location.