There are many stories online about Apple iPhone’s virtual assistant Siri helping to save human lives. Another such story is making headlines about Siri saving woman from certain death. An American florist named Susan Putman gives credit to the virtual assistant for being there for her when no human could.
Siri Saving Woman by Calling 911
According to reports, 60-year-old Susan from New Jersey was doing routine work at her studio, Round Top Resources Floral Design, when she met an unfortunate accident. While making some floral arrangements, the designer tripped and hit her head on a metal pole.
She could not confirm if she had lost consciousness or not, but she remembered bleeding heavily. There was no one around who could help her. However, she did have AirPods in her ears because she would often talk to her friends and family while in the studio.
That’s when she informed her iPhone’s assistant to call 911. The call connected, and the operator sent the paramedics to her house, who could stop her bleeding.
Hospital and Diagnoses
Paramedics quickly took Susan to the hospital, where she received 7 staples on the side of her head. Doctors diagnosed her with a concussion and told her that she could not look at screens (TV, mobile, computer etc.) for the next 45 days. She would feel nauseous if she looked at any of the screens.
However, she returned to her studio and resumed working on floral arrangements with AirPods still in her ears. She said that she would have been dead if it weren’t for Airpods. When Susan shared her story with her friends and family, she was surprised that many did not know that they could use AirPods to command Siri.
Many of her relatives have bought iPhones after hearing about the incident of Siri saving woman from dying.
How Smartphone Assistants Work?
Virtual assistants (VA) in phones are passive listening tools that respond to a human command after recognizing it. Passive listening means that the device will always be hearing what’s going on around the user. However, it also means they would need a specific command or a button to activate (like “Ok Google” in supported Android devices). They need an uninterrupted connection to the internet to go online and find answers for the users. Siri is perhaps the most popular VA, first acquired by Apple in 2010 and introduced in iPhone 4S in 2011.
However, such assistants have been just a voice till now, guiding the Smartphone user. It looks like it will be changed soon when these assistants have a face and personality. According to reports, Samsung was also working on a 3D virtual assistant called Sam, but it is pretty far from replacing its current VA, Bixby.
