An android application for a safer driving experience.
One glance could mean the difference between life and death. While Americans are aware of the dangers that accompany distracted driving, 74% can’t seem to resist the urge to check their phone in the heat of the moment(Edgar Snyder and Associates). At Tech-No-Logic, we created an app eliminates this risky habit. Our app, “Drive Off” locks your phone and sends auto-replies when it recognizes that your location is moving at 15 mph. We are dedicated to preventing the issue of being tempted to look at your phone, in turn making the roads safer for drivers everywhere.
Tech-No-Logic is a dynamic startup that relies on revenue from partners who team up with our points system.Initially it will be free, however as we gain momentum it will be priced at $0.99. By aligning Drive Off with businesses, both small and large alike, they can receive advertising benefits in exchange for offering coupons and free merchandise to those who have accumulated points. This serves as an economic incentive for drivers to utilise the app and practice safe driving.
Furthermore, the businesses have to pay a small fee in order to have their advertisements be placed in certain areas of the app. The business owners would also pay an additional charge to increase the frequency of their advertisement. Profits along with the Technovation prize money would aid in making this app global as well as making it accessible for drivers of other vehicles, including but not limited to airplanes, trains and ships.
Tech-No-Logic plans to target three market segments within the automotive industry - new drivers, functional vehicle users and families -- within the Mid- Atlantic State Region to commence with. Our goal is to expand the usage of this app to many 501(c) working to end distracted driving such as Safe America Foundation and Stay Alive…Just Drive. In addition, we intend to increase the scope of this app to make it global to other countries where within two years of this app’s launch. We also aim to decrease the number of accidents caused by texting while driving by 15% in this timeframe.
Drive Off is an app that targets the issue of texting while driving. Our app is designed to limit the functionality of the phone during driving. This app will have two main components. The first component gives the user the option to or send custom automatic replies to text messages which the options of connecting it to Google Voice, reading the messages out loud and sharing the location via text. Our second option, the recommended “Drive Off” mode shuts off the phone when it senses that the car’s location is moving at a speed of at least 25 mph. To motivate users to comply with this app we have implemented a flame score system. Due to the fact that the large majority of our users are teens, we are encouraging parents to reward their new drivers on our flame point system, because it will incentivize new drivers, the most vulnerable to crashes, to drive without distraction. Skilled drivers will also benefit from a safer driving experience. We hope to team up with various businesses (for them to offer rewards in exchange of flame points) to aggrandize the appeal to regular functional drivers.
Similar apps that are dedicated to eradicating the issue of texting and driving exist on app stores. Tech-No-Logic plans to overcome the competition by heavily advertising on social media sites and encouraging peers to share their flame scores with each other. This will promote friendly competition and will compel them to use the app more frequently to gain more points. Our product will be successful because it confronts a prominent and dangerous issue in a unique way. Our app delivers all promised benefits in a straightforward manner whereas other apps will promise a certain benefit and not follow through with it. Furthermore, our method of motivating the users ensure that
Our mission is to reduce the number of car crashes in the Mid-Atlantic region with our app. Drive Off gives the opportunity to protect all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians from distracted driving. We give out flame scores to the concept of driving safely. This affordable app will make the roads safer while allowing for the opportunity to be rewarded for their positive actions.
- Drive Off is an efficient way to confront the issue of texting and driving. Our services trump others through incentivizing the safe driving process
- Drive Off offers various solutions and options for the user to combat distracted driving
- Partner with various businesses to increase the value of the flame score
- Increase penetration by 40% of the functional driver market segment
- Help more than 100,000 drivers drive safely
Tech-No-Logic is a startup company based in West Windsor, New Jersey. It is owned and run by Kriti Verma and Aarushi Parashar.
To start up Tech-No-Logic, we will need the following:
- Employees:
- Programmers
- Marketers/Data Analysts
- Publicists/Graphic Designers to create advertisements
- 7 computers used for programming, data analytics, and publicity ($500 each)
- Facilities: Individual houses will be used for majority of the work and public resources will be used if necessary
- Funds for advertisements/marketing: including social media, advertisements on websites that allow, posters, magnets, etc($750).
- Funds to create a cloud server and an Android market account
- Collaborations:
- We plan to collaborate with a local New Jersey MVC in order to raise awareness and gain support/sponsorship for Drive Off
Our app is designed to reduce the number of crashes in the Mid-Atlantic region and help over 100,000 drivers commute in a safer way. It aims to appeal to all drivers, especially new drivers who are very familiar with and dependent on technology. This group of drivers is very aware of the consequences of texting and driving. Many of them will have had some form of education against distracted driving. However, these adolescents are also the ones most affected by technology. We hope to prevent the issue by including parents in discipling their children, and potentially saving their life.
Our app has two main components, sending instant replies, and an optional location share. We believe that these two parts will allow the driver to have a safe driving experience while still allotting enough use in the case of an emergency.
The first component, is the option of sending an instant reply message. Essentially, the purpose of this is to allow the driver to not be tempted to look at their phone. Many people will use their phones to text someone that they are “stuck in traffic”, or “on their way”, and that is when crashes happen. Even though it’s just a quick glance away from the road, it is still enough to miss a red light or turn into oncoming traffic. If a driver does not feel the need to respond, a large amount of crashes will be prevented. Our app will send an automated response to the number that has texted, and will give the option to create a response such as ,”Can’t talk right now, I’ll call you soon”, or “Driving right now, I’ll text you later” that they want to send out. The user can create their own message. Also, the app can read the driver’s incoming text messages out loud, so that the driver is aware of what’s going on. This way, if something is urgent, the driver can pull over and attend to the emergency. As stated earlier, this will alleviate the need for a driver to check their phone while driving.
The second part to our app is the option to give a location to someone who is texting you. Similar to the “Find My Friends” app, Drive Off can allow certain contacts to see your location. It works with a sensor, and can be extremely convenient to families who want to ensure that their child is traveling safely. We believe that this sensor is beneficial because it will prevent new drivers from being irresponsible and unsafe with their driving habits and whereabouts. Driving is a new form of freedom, but with this immense amount of freedom also comes a level of responsibility. While teenagers and new drivers control their own future and responsibility and trust themselves not to abuse their freedom, parents will be able to breathe easier, knowing that their children are secure and safe. This is not required, it is only an option for those who desire it.
Drive Off is targeted toward new drivers who need to be protected from the dangers of distracted driving. Tech-No-Logic tentatively plans to release Drive Off on the app market in two versions: a free version and a paid version. The free version will contain advertisements and limited redemption facets for the flame score while the paid version will be ad-free and have full access to all associative partners. The paid version will cost approximately $0.99. We will also offer price reductions to those users who efficaciously spread Drive Off to at least 10 of their friends to increase the brand awareness. Drive Off poses a solution to the problem by focusing on giving various options for drivers to reduce distraction as well as incentivizing it. This method of rewarding will allow users to challenge themselves and their friends to increase their flame score.
Other apps will only lock the screen, but ours allows the driver to set up an automatic response. Many people like to make sure that the correspondent receives a response, even if it is a simple text. Drive Off does so, but will also alert the correspondent that whomever they are talking to is driving. Therefore, they won’t be inclined to respond, and that will help keep the driver and others out of danger. Also, our location sensor allows for parents to be aware of their child’s whereabouts, decreasing the need to check in with their teenagers while they may be driving. Many people recognize that texting while driving is a problem, but don’t know how to stop it. Our app gives drivers the opportunity to do so, by sending automatic replies, and utilizing a location sensor.
Tech-No-Logic has divided its market into four sections
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Teenagers/New Drivers will use this app to control their driving habits. Because this generation’s teenagers use technology the most, they will be the most affected by this safety app.
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Parents/Family Members can incentivize the usage of this app to their kids. The flame score provides an opportunity for parents to reward their children for using this app.
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Driving Schools can use this app to explain the dangers of texting and driving to their students, so that students will have the message ingrained in their minds.
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Various DMVs will be able to encourage test takers to install this app so that the student will be aware that there is a method to stop him/herself from being a distracted driver.
There are other apps that also try to stop texting while driving. These also promise to lock the phone and keep the driver focused. However, these have many runtime issues, and many users complain that they do no work.
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Drive Safe is an android application. The purpose of Drive Safe is to merely disable any and all texts and calls that come on the phone when someone is driving. However, the driver will not be aware that someone is trying to contact them, and if an emergency occurs, he/she will not know. Our app silences texts, but also reads them aloud, so the driver knows if something is going on. Emergencies happen, so the driver should know if someone is constantly trying to contact them, and that their texts are urgent.
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PHS No Texting While Driving is an android application that silences the phone and sends an auto-reply. However, it does not contain the location sensor that will aid even more. If someone who is texting sees that the driver is on the road, they will stop texting the driver, because they know that the driver could potentially be putting him/herself in danger. Even though the texts will be silenced, the correspondent will be aware that they should stop texting, in order to keep the driver safe along with others on the road.
Competitive Analysis
| Drive Off | PHS No Texting While Driving | Drive Safe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disables Texting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sends Automated Reply | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simple Design | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reads Messages Outloud | Yes | Yes | No |
| Location Sensor | Yes | No | No |
Drive Off allows the driver to stay engages with that is going on around them, while still letting them be connected to their loved ones, in a non-dangerous way. We believe that because of the interactive nature of this app, drivers everywhere will be safer.
Our flame score is a component that will gain more users. Teenagers love to be rewarded by their parents, and parents will have peace of mind knowing that their child is using the app and driving safely and responsibly. Teenagers are aware that texting and driving is a danger to drivers everywhere, but they still do it because their friends will do it. Once one friend uses the app, and explains about it, other friends will be inclined to use it, because they will no longer feel that texting while driving is a common occurrence, and that many people are keeping themselves and other drivers safe by using this app. We also plan to team up with local and large businesses and have them send coupons to high flame scorers, further incentivizing the usage of this app.
Tech-No-Logic’s marketing strategy is based on people recognizing and understanding the risks that come with texting and driving. Many advertisements show that while drivers only look at their phone for a couple of seconds, the consequences can still be extremely severe.
Friends will advertise this app to each other once they realize that it has been keeping them more focused and less distracted when driving. Inexperience is the main cause of teenage accidents. When inexperience and distracted driving are mixed together, the risk factor for a crash increases immensely. Our flame score and business partnerships will be excellent tools for increasing the number of users, because they will be rewarded for being safe. In a survey taken at a local high school, 43 out of 50 people affirmed that they would use such an app if economic incentives were provided.
Tech-No-Logic will use an aggressive marketing strategy, and will advertise on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; due to the large number of teens that use those sites, and the ability to advertise easily, with conserving our budget, success is in the near future. We also plan to use Google AdSense, which is a free way to advertise, and will help everyone drive safely.
Tech-No-Logic will use a sales plan focused on attracting families and driving schools who will recommend this app to their students, through conferences, emails, calls, and other forms of communication. We plan to attend safe driving conferences throughout the Mid-Atlantic area. We plan to stay in touch with driving schools and classes to allow drivers everyone to be safe while driving.
Once drivers start to use this app, and start becoming familiar with the concept of flame points, we will collaborate with business partners to redeem flame points as real rewards. This is to continue to promote sustained safe driving behavior.
In the next phase, we will collaborate with social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, for people to share their safe driving and rewards that they have gotten as a result of their flame score. Once Drive Off is shared throughout the social media community, we will be more capable of producing tangible rewards for everyone. Businesses will get a negotiable (no more than 20%) share of the profit made, and we will offer them an advertisement on our app.
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#16. Digital image. 50 Reasons Not to Text and Drive. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/cc/40/93/cc40931a007fbc70e6b74e8beb349ab5.jpg.
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Irwin, Andrew. "Drive Safe - Android Apps on Google Play." Drive Safe - Android Apps on Google Play. Andrew Irwin, 20 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=westport.andrewirwin.com.drivesafe&hl=en.
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