GreenRoad announced a smartphone-based driver performance solution for fleets.
GreenRoad Smartphone Edition, named Asimov, is available now in beta for Android devices.

GreenRoad Smartphone Edition uses smartphone functionality, including GPS and built-in accelerometers, to eliminate the need for professionally installed telematics devices in vehicles. Drivers can use the service by downloading the Asimov app, dropping the smartphone into the vehicle mount, and beginning their trip.

The service uses patented algorithms to detect how well the driver is driving. Whenever a risky or fuel-inefficient maneuver occurs, GreenRoad Smartphone Edition gives the driver immediate audio and visual feedback directly from the smartphone.

GreenRoad Smartphone Edition also includes a distracted driving prevention feature that can be configured to automatically disable physical use of the smartphone while the vehicle is moving.

Business fleets that use short-term leased vehicles rarely invest in professionally installed telematics equipment with a long term payback schedule. Because it is smartphone-based, GreenRoad Smartphone Edition is expected to appeal to a broad market including business and delivery fleets, with rapid vehicle turnover, short-term leases and rotating fleet equipment.

Potential integration with other fleet applications that are also smartphone-based, such as inventory management, navigation and fleet management, is another benefit.

How it Works

"Our biggest challenge in creating Asimov was dealing with the phone's variable orientation in space," said vice president of product management, Amir Shoval. "One of our key innovations was figuring out how to continuously calculate the phone's orientation and automatically sync this with the precise event measurements generated from phone sensor data."

These algorithms also automatically detect the beginning and end of each trip so that the software is as transparent as possible to the driver. The driver does not need to stop and think about turning GreenRoad on or off; it just runs in the background, measuring driving performance, as the driver drives.

GreenRoad Smartphone Edition, like previous GreenRoad products, measures risky or inefficient driving events across five parameters: acceleration, braking, cornering, speeding and lane handling.

Shoval predicts that as smartphones continue to get smarter, GreenRoad driver performance software will get better and better. "As state-of-the-art sensors continue to develop, and exciting new technologies like voice and gesture recognition are further refined, you will continue to see GreenRoad Smartphone Edition evolve."

GreenRoad Smartphone Edition for Android will be commercially available by the end of 2012, and the iOS version will be available in 2013.