Teleclick.ca is reporting that Nokia filed a patent in the US on December 29th for new and interesting safety features on cell phones. The new features utilize GPS tracking, video and audio to unobtrusively gather data and send it to a prearranged location, such as the closest 911 operator when activated.

Reportedly activated by holding down multiple phone buttons at the same time, the phone would begin gathering audio and video to relay to police or rescuers. GPS data on the location of the phone and the user would also be forwarded along with the audio and video.

Teleclick also noted in an interview with a Nokia spokesperson, that Nokia did not necessarily plan to use the new safety features on future phones, nor does Nokia give any hint of when the new features could be available.

I wonder if a person with a cell phone featuring this kind of technology would be able to activate it during a crisis such as robbery or kidnapping. I would also wonder about the quality of video and audio that could possibly be obtained via this sort of feature. I don't think the assailant would be stopping for pictures. I do however, see the GPS part being of use.

I would think this sort of technology would be interesting to parents. For example, if you could set your child's phone to be able to give you their location via GPS that would be cool. A parent could always know where their child was, and should the child become lost of kidnapped, being able to activate the technology would be a huge help in locating them. To be most useful, I think this sort of technology would need to be able to be activated remotely by a third party.