I had the opportunity to speak with the guys from iOnRoad about their Android app and boy was I impressed. They have harnessed the power of a phone's camera, gyroscope and accelerometer to create a product that helps you drive better. All you have to do is put the phone in your windshield, like many people do already for their navigation apps, and it will begin watching the road to make sure you are staying in your lane, not speeding and giving yourself enough distance between you and the car in front of you.
The first concern I had was quickly alleviated: iOnRoad can run in the background while you listen to music, have text messages read to you or even continue to use your navigator. When you inevitably get too close to another car, it will alert you and tell you the car in front of you is getting too close or that you no longer have enough stopping time if they were to stop suddenly. It also lets you know if the lane lines have shifted in its viewport, meaning you may be riding the line. This product is perfect for us being in Las Vegas where people don't quite drive the way you would expect, nor are there any rules about driving in a single lane at a time.
While it was refreshing to see an application like this one start on a platform other than iOS, there is no way a company can ignore the size of the iSheeple flock, so the company is currently beta testing an iOS version of the application as well. The application, both on Android and iOS, works really well and truly is an innovative idea, so it is no wonder they won a CES 2012 Innovation Award.
Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.
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Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
