Revv Partners with Mobileye to Make its Cars Safer

Self-drive car sharing startup Revv has partnered with Mobileye, an Intel Company, to install advanced driver assistance systems in their cars with the aim of red­ucing accidents and casualties on India’s roads.

India has one of the highest incidences of road fatalities in the world, with 1.5 lakh deaths from over 4 lakh road accidents every year. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways estimates that 84% of these are the driver’s fault, where drivers lose attention of the road in the critical 2 or 3 seconds prior to an accident, which could be while using mobile phones, driving while fatigued, unintentional lane changes etc. Hence alerting the driver and bringing his or her attention to the road in the crucial seconds before an accident could conceivably prevent over 3 lakh accidents annually and possibly save more than 1 lakh lives.

In the past, Revv has already taken measures such as implementing speed warnings and driver behaviour monitoring systems to act as safety nets for its customers. Now, with Mobileye's Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Revv's drivers will be even safer behind the wheel. Mobileye's ADAS technology alerts the driver prior to a potential accident, allowing them to react accordingly and mitigate or completely avoid the accident.

Mobileye’s ADAS technology includes the following 5 features:

• Forward Collision Warning (FCW): Alerts the driver of an imminent collision with the vehicle ahead.
• Headway Monitoring & Warning (HMW): Shows the driver the distance to the vehicle ahead (in seconds) and alerts if the distance becomes dangerously close.
• Pedestrian and Cyclist Collision Warning (PCW): During daylight hours, alerts the driver of an imminent collision with a pedestrian or cyclist.
• Lane Departure Warning (LDW): Alerts the driver of unindicated (and presumed unintended) lane departure.
• Speed Limit Indication (SLI): Recognises and reads speed limit signs (including electronic signs) and notifies the driver if he or she is speeding.

Revv piloted Mobileye's ADAS over a 3-month period, with 30 vehicles and over 4,00,000 kms driven; Over this 3-month period Revv witnessed a 74% or four-fold decrease in accident rates (from an accident every 22,000kms to every 84,000kms). As such, Revv is now rolling out the system across its entire fleet of 800 vehicles.

“We pride ourselves in always putting the customer first, including taking corporate social responsibility seriously. India has only 1% of the world’s vehicles, but accounts for 10% of the world’s road fatalities. Given this, we felt that any step to increase the safety of our customers is a step worth taking”, Revv co-founders were quoted as saying.

Revv's ideology is in line with the vision of Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.  Gadkari has already taken initiatives aimed at reducing the number of deaths due to road accidents by half, explicitly stating this target in a press conference last year.

Michael Hirsh, Mobileye's Director for India said “Revv is leading the way with this worthy initiative for the sake of customers, road users and India’s road safety mission in general. This is the essence of corporate responsibility and a shining example to all. And we are happy to be playing an important role in realising this mission”

Mobileye is an Israeli based hi-tech company that specialises in vision based technology, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. It was recently acquired by Intel for USD 15.3 billion.