PR84678

BERKELEY, California, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- Free Mobile App from Silicon Valley Protects Pedestrians from Connected

Vehicles.

Of all 250,000 pedestrian fatalities a year, 65% present a massive problem for

the automotive industry. A Berkeley based startup may have just solved the

problem.

Photo -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1200833/_important__important___The_First_App_that_Could_Save_Your_Life.jpg

A French automotive study(i) shows that pedestrian deaths come from 20 common

scenarios, which can be categorized into four groups: driver responsibility

(35%), visual blockage (28%), unpredictable pedestrian behavior (26%), and

weather conditions (11%). While existing vehicle-based sensors such as cameras,

radars, sonars, and lidars address the first category, the remaining categories

are left unsolved by current technologies.

Functioning as a digital safety belt, the !important app communicates the

user's location to nearby connected vehicles. The technology can immediately

alert drivers and even trigger vehicles' brakes automatically to prevent a

collision with an approaching person, bicyclist, or motorcyclist. This first

pedestrian-based technology works in all 20 common scenarios and could save a

million lives over the next decade.

>> Download the app for free from www.important.com

The !important app is currently available for free on the iPhone and Android

App stores. "This solves the remaining 65% of death cases. We hope it will

become a regulation for the automotive industry." says Bastien Beauchamp,

inventor & CEO of !important.

Tara Andringa, Executive Director of Partners for Automated Vehicle Education

(PAVE), summed it up well: "... a key issue is how we will ensure pedestrian

safety in an automated vehicle (AV) world. !important is tackling this problem

of pedestrian safety, and their mobile app seeks to enhance road safety by

improving communication between pedestrians and other road users."  

In early 2021, the technology will be implemented in vehicles on the roads of

Reno, Nevada (USA) as part of the Intelligent Mobility (IM) initiative in

collaboration with the Nevada Center for Applied Research (NCAR) at the

University of Nevada in Reno. The Director of NCAR, Carlos G. Cardillo,

remarked that "The !important app will increase the safety of vulnerable road

users and the acceptance of autonomous vehicle infrastructure by minimizing

potential dangers."

About

!important was nominated by Alibaba Jumpstarter 2020 in the Top 30 Startups of

Silicon Valley. !Important is a company backed by groups of medical doctors and

is part of the University of California Berkeley Skydeck and Ann Arbor SPARK

accelerator programs. It collaborates with 12 universities.

    i    INRETS Report No. 256 (France, 2003)

Contact: Bastien Beauchamp, 1 855 231 3783, media@important.com

SOURCE !important