BERKELEY, California – Of all the 250,000 pedestrian victims there are each year, 65% present a huge problem for the automotive industry. A startup company based in Berkeley may have just solved the problem.
A French automotive study i has shown that pedestrian fatalities come from 20 common scenarios, which can be categorized into four groups: driver responsibility (35%), visual blockage (28%), unpredictable pedestrian behavior (26% ) and weather conditions (11%). Although there are vehicle-based sensors, such as cameras, radars, sonar and lidars in the first category, the other categories have been left unresolved by current technologies.
Functioning as a digital seat belt, the app! Important communicates the user’s location with nearby connected vehicles. The technology immediately alerts drivers, as well as automatically activating vehicle brakes to prevent a collision with an oncoming person, cyclist, or biker. This first pedestrian-based technology works in all 20 common scenarios, and can save millions of lives in the next decade.
The! Important app is currently available for free in the iPhone Store and in the Android App Store. “This solves the remaining 65% of death cases. We hope it will become a regulation for the automotive industry,” said Bastien Beauchamp, inventor and CEO of! Important.
Tara Andringa , Executive Director of Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) Partners, summed it up correctly: “… a key issue is how we are going to ensure pedestrian safety in a world with automated vehicles (AV).! Important addresses this Pedestrian safety issue, and its mobile app seeks to improve road safety by updating communication between pedestrians and other road users. ”
In early 2021, the technology will be implemented in vehicles on the roads of Reno, Nevada (United States) as part of the Intelligent Mobility (IM) initiative in collaboration with the Nevada Center for Applied Research (NCAR) at the University of Nevada. in Reno . NCAR Director Carlos G. Cardillo noted: “The app! Important will increase the safety of the most vulnerable road users and the acceptance of autonomous vehicle infrastructure by minimizing potential damage.”
Growing pace of innovation for mobility and automotive has unveiled the importance of road safety and technologies. Best1tech is a leading app development company with expertise in on-demand app development for similar applications. Connect to know more about our app development offerings.
Source: PR Newswire
