Communications of the ACM
Rutgers Engineers Design Cell Phone App to Reduce Distracted Driving
Credit: Radu Razvan
Researchers at Rutgers University and the Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a smartphone application that can identify where a cell phone user is sitting in a car and automatically adjust the phone's settings to try to keep the driver's attention on the road.
"We're making it easier for people who want to drive less distracted," says Rutgers professor Marco Gruteser.
For example, the app can silently forward incoming calls and texts to message boxes for later retrieval. The app also could automatically respond to a caller or texter, saying the owner is currently driving and will reply later. For outgoing communication, the app could disable texting and make placing certain frequent calls less difficult by displaying them as large on-screen buttons.
The app works with the car's sound system to distinguish between the driver and passenger, and requires a stereo sound system with Bluetooth connectivity. Beeps come out of left and right speakers at different intervals, and the phone uses its microphone to listen for the beeps it just sent. If beeps from the left speaker arrive fractions of a second faster than beeps from the right speaker, it means the phone is likely in the driver's hands.
From Rutgers University
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