To the Editor,
We would like to bring a recently launched feature by Google Maps to your attention, which might have drastic impact on public access defibrillation (PAD).
Until now identification of PAD sights in case of a cardiac arrest has been cumbersome for the general public. Especially locating automatic external defibrillators indoors within a reasonable time frame has continued to be an obstacle for early defibrillation.
1
In August 2019 Google launched a new service called “Live View”.2
This service improves navigation for pedestrians by using augmented reality. Technically wise, orientation is ensured by processing footage from a smart devices’ camera.3
Therefore, the service is much more precise compared to satellite navigation and even works indoors without satellite reception. Relevant directional information is displayed within the application as overlay above camera image on the screen. The new feature was integrated into all installed applications of Google Maps via update and is since then operational.Thus, since August a significant proportion of the global population carries a sophisticated system for micro navigation already installed in their pockets. This feature lays a foundation to rapidly allocate the closest defibrillator in case of a witnessed cardiac arrest. As Live View is for large parts of western societies already integrated and accessible on their smart devices, without installation of further applications, this might be the link to foster successful PAD by layperson soon.
Conflict of interest
No conflicts of interest.
References
- The challenges and possibilities of public access defibrillation.J Intern Med. 2018; : 238-256https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.12730
- Introducing Live View, the new augmented reality feature in Google Maps.(Google Help, (Accessed 30 October 2019 at)
- Vision-based location positioning using augmented reality for indoor navigation.IEEE Trans Consum Electron. 2008; : 954-962https://doi.org/10.1109/TCE.2008.4637573
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 03, 2019
Received:
November 12,
2019
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
