Pedestrians communicate while on the go. These “Sidewalk Zombies” - people who are so absorbed in their phones that they are oblivious to their surroundings - are a threat to themselves and us all.
Let's be realistic - we're not going to get that behavior to change overnight. Optic SMS is the next best solution: prevent harm to aloof walkers and others by improving their situational awareness. Optic SMS is a fully featured messaging application but with a twist - the app's background displays the rear camera feed! With this, any pedestrian is still able to at least catch a glimpse of any threat (curb, cyclist, car, signs, other pedestrians) faster, reducing the risk of an accident. See the video and screenshots for a sense of how the Optic layer can help reduce collisions in urban street environments.
Optic SMS is a fork of the open source application TextSecure, and is compatible with their services. This allows any user to avoid SMS fees if desired by using their messaging platform, used by thousands of people. All of those services are completely optional, and Optic SMS can function as a standard texting app.
Video best watched in full-screen mode.
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