OnStar remotely disables stolen SUV; Saves gasoline, lives of civilians, cops, etc from a potentially deadly high-speed chase
(Sources: AP via Yahoo; KMPH Fox26 & LA Times)
The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.’s OnStar service sent a command that electronically disabled the gas pedal and the SUV gradually came to a halt.
The flustered thief got out and ran, but was quickly nabbed after he climbed several fences and fell into a backyard swimming pool, police said.
It was the first time since OnStar began offering the service in the 2009 model year that it was used to end a chase that could otherwise have had dire consequences.
Shortly after the incident was reported, officers quickly contacted OnStar and got the owner’s permission to find the vehicle. Police spotted it a few miles away, but as officers made a U-turn to pursue it, the Tahoe sped off at a high speed. The suspect made a turn, and police dispatchers told the pursuing officers that OnStar was about to disable the Tahoe. It then rolled to a halt, and the robber was quickly captured.
OnStar President Walt Dorfstatter said it took only 16 minutes from the time OnStar was notified for the vehicle to be stopped.
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OnStar getting upgrade for pinpoint accuracy in emergencies
(Source: Autoblog)
In the event of a crash, vehicle sensors gather up information and connects an OnStar adviser to a vehicle. OnStar can then contact emergency services and provide information regarding the severity of the crash, with information about airbags deployed and type of impact.
In the past, OnStar advisers would have to give emergency services a detailed description of the location of the accident.
Subscribers to the telematics system will benefit from new technology that will enable OnStar to electronically transmit precise longitude and longitude coordinates directly to the 911 center. Where available, the Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data display will show the authorities exactly where you’re located, with almost zero opportunity for error.
The presser had the following info: With this newest OnStar enhancement, 911 centers can automatically receive specific vehicle location information (longitude and latitude) in the 911 Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data display which may interface with a sophisticated mapping system used in many jurisdictions to expedite locating emergency victims.
“In an emergency, accurate location is the most important piece of information to ensure that help arrives promptly at the scene,” said Cathy McCormick, Emergency and Security Service Line manager, OnStar.
In addition to providing location information, OnStar advisors continue to play an important role in providing critical crash and other emergency-related information directly to dispatchers to help them determine the most appropriate response.
“The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials has worked with telematics providers since their inception to use the latest technology to assist public safety in saving lives,” said Chris Fischer, president, APCO International. “This technology interfaces with the systems many of our centers have in place already to expedite response.”
With OnStar’s Priority Access program, many PSAPs already receive OnStar emergency calls through an existing 911 trunk line. By routing verified emergency calls to 911 trunk lines, dispatchers will not only receive OnStar calls more quickly, they will also receive important call-related data, including OnStar’s PSAP-only callback number.
Sweet Tweets! – OnStar May Add Voice-Activated Twitter Capability
(Source: Jalopnik)
OnStar may soon partner with Twitter to offer hands-free tweeting capability to its suite of voice-activated communications services. This may be the perfect compliment to OnStar’s automatic crash reporting.
A writer at GearLive owns a couple of OnStar-equipped vehicles and received a survey touting the following Twitter service:
“While in your vehicle, you can use OnStar to submit and retrieve tweets (messages) via your Twitter account. Using OnStar’s Voice-Activated Hands-Free Calling system, and having your voice converted into text, you can provide updates which would appear in the “What are you doing?” section of your Twitter homepage. It is also possible to listen to a tweet that was sent to you by someone else after it has been converted into voice. You can send and receive tweets without having to type or read anything.”
The service doesn’t seem complicated to set up and, using a voice-to-text system like the one found in SYNC, this should already be possible.
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