A new service called Advanced Mobile Location (AML) has been launched here, allowing emergency services to locate the exact location of a person in distress.
The AML service, which is already being used in the UK, Austria, Lithuania, Estonia and New Zealand, uses location technology on Android devices to give emergency services a much more accurate idea of where a person is and how to get to them.
When someone calls 999 or 112, their Android mobile will automatically turn on its location services within 25 seconds, sending a message to the Emergency Call Answering Service, which gives a person’s whereabouts accurate to under 50 metres or closer.
According to RTÉ, currently if you call the emergency services and are not able to tell them exactly where you are, they are forced to rely on approximate locations using phone masts which could be covering areas of over 100 kilometres.
Despite being an excellent benefit to us all, it will especially be of significant use to those in isolated rural areas or those who cannot speak or have intellectual disabilities. Undoubtedly, it might also help kids and parents to feel safer knowing they have this available at their finger tips.
The service is built into Google Play software on Android, version 9 and over.
