Smartphone App to Monitor Drivers
New smartphone app. recognizes when a traffic accident has occurred, records images before and after the event: http://bit.ly/IQwveZ
The official announcement, in Japanese via the company website here [Eds]
Smartphone apps to monitor drivers
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. has developed a smartphone application that automatically recognizes when a traffic accident has occurred and records images prior to the accident and afterward.
The company will start offering the app from August. The app also functions to help prevent car accidents, which should save money as well as lives, as car insurers plan to raise premiums from autumn next year for drivers who cause accidents. The name of the free app, Suma-ho, is written as a pun that visually combines the words “sumaho” (smartphone) and “hoken” (insurance).
Suma-ho, installed in a smartphone mounted on a car’s dashboard, detects crash impacts and sudden braking. It automatically records and saves images for 10 seconds before and after an accident.