Google Announces Emergency Live Video for Sharing Visual Information with Emergency Services on Android

Google on Wednesday announced a new feature for Android, which allows users to get help from emergency services via a real-time video feed. Dubbed Emergency Live Video, a dispatcher can send a request to the phone to share a live video, allowing responders to quickly assess the situation until help arrives. It is said to be built on Android's Emergency Location Service (ELS), which provides accurate location fixes and additional emergency information for Android phones during emergency situations.

Emergency Live Video on Android

In a blog post, Google said that the Emergency Live Video feature has been built without any setup requirements. During an emergency call or text, a responder can send a request to the Android device if they determine that getting a visual of the scene would help them deliver better care.

Users will see a prompt on the screen for Emergency Live Video, and they can choose to begin streaming the live feed via the phone's camera with a single tap. Google claims this feature is encrypted, and users can stop the video at any time.

“In an emergency, it can be hard to describe exactly what's happening. That's why we're launching Android Emergency Live Video. Dispatchers can now request to see a secure live stream from your camera to quickly assess the situation and get you help faster,” Sameer Samat, Google's president of Android Ecosystem, said in an X post.

Emergency Live Video leverages ELS, Android's supplemental emergency location service. As per the company, it uses Android Fused Location Provider (FLP) and computes on-device location when an emergency call or text is made. This technology is claimed to deliver faster and more accurate location, utilising signals from GPS, cell, Wi-FI and other sensors. ELS works on Android devices with current Google Play services support.

The new functionality is currently rolling out to Android phones running Android 8+ with Google Play services in the US, as well as select regions of Germany and Mexico. Emergency Live Video joins existing services like Emergency Location Service, Car Crash and Fall Detection, and Satellite SOS.