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Using a phone's gyroscope to determine when its owner is in danger

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Samuel Bello

Samuel Bello Aug 14, 2021

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The phone will record the way its owner moves naturally and measure how much the owner's movements deviate from the normal patterns when they are in danger. The app will assess how dangerous the situation is by recording the owner's movements and heart rate.

A gyroscope is a device that is used for measuring angular orientation and angular velocity, they are sometimes called gyrometers. A gyroscope can be used along with other motion and location sensors to monitor the owner's movement. Whenever the owner's movements deviate from the usual patterns, the phone will automatically start recording the environment it is in. If the owner does not return to their normal movement patterns on time the phone will contact the nearest police stations about a possible danger. The app will also prompt the user to respond and confirm if they are safe and well. It will react to sudden impacts like when the user falls or gets hit. This could save a lot of users in cases where they are knocked unconscious.

In criminal cases where a crime could not be prevented, the ensuing investigation will have more evidence because of the phones will record the incidents around such scenes.

gyroscope safety mobile application

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Creative contributions

The gyroscope needs to be located on devices other than the phone

Shubhankar Kulkarni

Shubhankar Kulkarni Aug 16, 2021

Robbing is the most common crime on the street, where this particular app is applicable. It cannot be used in your home since you do not do much walking there and your phone may not be on you all the time.

When being robbed, the attackers rob your phone during almost all instances and then they switch it off or reset it immediately. Then, it won't be possible to assess the owner's orientation and velocity. I, therefore, suggest that the signaling device should be attached to something other than the user's phone, may be a pendant or something that fits in the belt buckle. Or a small chip to wear inside your footwear. Basically, the gyroscope and the signaling device should be in places that are usually not exposed during most crimes.

The phone could also have the app, which could be used during health emergencies, such as when the owner is hiking alone and falls or has a heart attack. However, the sensor should also be located elsewhere on the body.

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Samuel Bello

Samuel Bello3 years ago

I get your point. It makes sense for the gyroscope to be on another device for cases when the user is at home and they may not have their phone on them all the time. An ideal back up device would be a smart watch since it can monitor the user's movements and physiological variables like their heart rate and blood pressure. This will increase the accuracy of the implementation. Some smart watches have cameras that record their environments. 
 
In cases of robberies where the phone is snatched or carefully picked out of the owners pocket, the phone will record the unusual patterns of movement and automatically alert the relevant authorities. For recent phones, their security systems make it impossible to switch them off or put them in silence mode without unlocking them. Some of these phones can already use gyroscopes to determine if their holder is drunk or sober with an accuracy that is over 90%. It is safe to assume that the phone gyroscope can account for cases where owner is robbed since it can tell how its owner would hold it or move around with it.

As for using a different app for medical emergencies; the idea was written with the assumption that the same app will be used for security emergencies and medical emergencies. This is why it was suggested that the phone would prompt the user to state their situation. If the user does not respond, then the a team that has at least one security officer and a paramedic will be sent to the person's location while other rescue services are ready for action.

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Shubhankar Kulkarni

Shubhankar Kulkarni3 years ago

Samuel Bello I understand your point. I did not suggest using a different app for health emergencies. I agree that the same app could be used for medical emergencies since the gyroscope will be able to easily detect the supine or other unusual positions the owner may be in.

I am still not sure about the accuracy with which the phone app could be used in case of robberies. Phone snatching could be so easy and not at all dramatic that the gyroscope may discard it as noise. The phones are usually in the pockets in a vertical position or purses in vertical or horizontal positions. There are really not many variations the phone position could have on the owner and also on the robber. Also, the owner may be active, for example, running towards the bus stop or playing with the kids in the park, and these actions could very well overlap with the actions the phone faces during a robbery. How would, then, the gyroscope differentiate between these two sets of actions?

As against, if there would be a sensor on the belt of a person, the supine position could be detected very easily. Also, if there were sensors on the knees, they may detect the position of the owner where their knees are touching the ground.

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