Picitup, an Israeli technology company founded in 2007, has announced the launch of a new product, the iOnRoad that is designed to help end users to become aware of future dangers in the road, increasing possible response times and hopefully helping drivers to make better decisions.
The announcement, which was made at the Israel Mobile Summit, at the summit the iOnRoad, also took home the first place award in the Israel Mobile Summit Startup Contest. The contest also featured 23 other start-ups from the region.
Generally, the idea of using a smart phone while you are driving is not generally considered to be a good one. As a matte of fact many studies have shown the dangers or driving and talking, or texting, at the same time. Not that this stops people from doing it anyway. 93% of drivers engage in distracted driving, according to a 2010 US poll conducted by InsuranceQuotes.com. 25% of police reported crashes involve a cell phone use in on way or another.
The iOnRoad hopes to change this by making use of the technology built into most phones. The app uses the camera on a Smartphone to locate vehicles on the road. With constant mapping the screen keeps a real time view of the road and gives users a heads up when they are potentially in danger. The warning consists of both a visual and an audio warning. The app is set to launch in Mid July for Android-based smart phones. Other operating systems for smartphones will be supported in future versions of the app. The company hopes to have those out by the end of this summer. More information: App website and press release
