This App Can Help You Drive Better And May Save Your Life
One of the coolest apps we saw at CTIA was the iOnRoad app. Using the camera on your phone, it becomes your personal driving assistant, helping you identify any risk in crashing into the car in front of you, or help you locate your car in case you forgot where you parked it. The app won first prize in the Automotive, Safe Driving & Transportation group of the CTIA 2012 E-Tech (emerging technology) Awards.
It can snap photos on the road, so insurance companies have taken a keen interest in the app, according to iOnRoad.
The app is available on Android for $4.99. The Apple iOS app is coming soon.
It works like this. iOnRoad uses your smartphone camera, along with GPS and accelerometers, to approximate the distance to the car in front of you. If the time is decreasing rapidly, it means you might hit the car. That is when the app will give you a full collision warning alert with a loud beeping sound. It also lets the users set a velocity alert, so it can alert you if you're speeding.
It works in the background, so drivers can still receive calls and run other apps. It will even read your SMS messages out for you.
Watch Byte's executive director Larry Seltzer get a sneak peak of the iOnRoad app on the show floor at CTIA.
Boonsri Dickinson is the Associate Editor of BYTE
