Last summer, members of the Pixel Watch 4 team took a couple of exciting field trips in the name of the research. “We had teams testing in national parks, and someone even took a Pixel Watch 4 on a whale watching trip,” says Shaara Ananth, a main engineer at Pixel Watch focusing on system technology. These excursions were part of the research and the test to bring emergency prose to Pixel Watch 4, so that people in even the most remote places can get help when they need it, all from their wrists.
The Pixel Watch 4 (LTE) is the first smartwatch on the market to have free satellite communication. Bringing this technology to such a small device was complex. “At first we thought” is this possible? “Says Shaarat.” And when we first realized it was, then we thought “Does it make sense to a watch? Is there value for people?” “These answers it turns out were also yes.
Building Satellite SOS to a smaller surface for the first time
The development process was no small achievement, and that is because the unit itself was just that: small. Usually, a piece of technology that connects to a satellite has multiple antennas, and it can simultaneously connect to earth-based communication such as GPS, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, even when trying to connect to a satellite. But given its size, the Pixel Watch 4 has fewer antennas than a phone, so it can’t leave all connections on and connect to a non-terrestrial network at the same time. Sharat says the team designed the system to work around this limitation.
The product team designed a system so if a person tries to call 911 and earth -based service is not available, the watch will switch automatically and offer the satellite option. If this person then selects satellite, an initial questionnaire collects important information about the emergency.
When Satellite SOS starts, you see a clear demonstration of how to orientate the clock after a successful connection and the device will also use audio signals to guide you. When the clock transfers the necessary information, you will receive haptic confirmation via vibrations and a “check -answer” button guides you to restore connection to updates from relief as needed.
Tools such as the location interface, sound signals and haptic feedback are intended to make satellite SOS easy to use, even in stressful situations. As Sharath notes, “What if you are in a kind of position where you can’t see the screen? We had to take it into consideration.”