Wheel Watch

An app developed to detect erratic driving.

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Inspiration

While driving provides many benefits and allows us as human beings to accomplish much higher goals. There are still many dangers and risks that lead to irresponsible or erratic driving causing over a million deaths a year. In order to help reduce this unfortunate number we have developed an android application to calculate unsafe driving behavior.

What it does

"Wheel Watch", our app, receives data from Ford's OpenXC vehicle interface software, then uses this data to calculate unsafe driving conditions. When the app discovers poor behavior it notifies the user with a warning, after too many warnings, an emergency contact is called (for the case that the driver is intoxicated).

How we built it

The app was developed in java with Android Studio using Github as our Version Control System. The app listens to Ford's OpenXC Enabler app to gather data from "trace files" or files that have been created by collecting data from a driven car. These trace files contain information such as vehicle speed and steering wheel angle that we use to watch the driving behavior. The app was then run and tested on our personal android mobile devices.

What we hope it accomplishes

As the app is geared towards detecting erratic driving, our overall goal in developing this app is safety in our community. Because college students are known for their eventful weekends, we feel that this app will take students and the community as a whole in a safer direction in respect to driving.

Challenges we ran into

Problems controlling and understanding git through Android Studio. Lack of knowledge of Ford's interface Having erratic driving data to test

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The app looks really good to us, we enjoyed creating it from scratch, learning as much as we have, and even giving it a logo. We also believe the concept is impactful and practical.

What we learned

How to program an Android application in Android Studio How to listen to another application for data (OpenXC) Using git and Github

What's next for Wheel Watch

Using gps to find speed limit of specific roads A more precise calculation of erratic behavior Implementation directly into the vehicle, including voice notifications or warnings through the sound system. Slowing down the engines of vehicles that are driving dangerously Sending information to insurance companies Sending information to law authorities

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