Survivor Beacon Mode: Turning the phones and wearables we already carry into life-detection beacons after earthquakes

After a major earthquake, survivors are still being pulled from the rubble days later, some with phones down to their last few percent of battery. The smartphone is often the most reliable locator a trapped person has, yet it is not designed to be found: it keeps running normally and drains while rescuers search for it by hand. This document proposes Survivor Beacon Mode, an operating-system-level feature for smartphones and smartwatches. When a device detects a violent earthquake or an unrecovered hard impact, it switches into a deliberately low-power state and broadcasts an anonymous, battery-frugal beacon that any rescuer's phone can detect. Where a wearable is present, the beacon is enriched with vital signs, primarily heart rate, turning "a phone is here" into "a living person is here, and here is how urgently they need help." The proposal does not require new hardware. Apple and Google already ship every component it depends on. What is missing is the integration. This is an open proposal published as a request for comment.