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iOnRoad Setup

• Q: How can I use iOnRoad in my car?

• A: iOnRoad requires your smartphone to be mounted in a car mount holder, placed such that the smartphone’s camera can view the road in front of the car.

• Q: Does iOnRoad need calibration?

• A: Calibration is unnecessary with the iOnRoad app. It is done automatically each time you start driving with it mounted and takes just a few seconds.

• Q: Does the app use less power running in background mode, which only displays warnings?

• A: “Sort of”... In general, iOnRoad consumes about as much as power as a common navigation app regardless of the foreground/background state. However, a significant portion of power is consumed by your phone’s screen so you can save some juice by turning it off.

• Q: Can I record a video or take a snapshot of the scene on the display?

• A: You can take a single snapshot or multiple snapshots using the camera button in the AR mode.

• Q: Does iOnRoad require an online connection?

• A: Not continuously. However, a connection to the server is required once every few days to check for safety updates

Minimum Requirements & Supported Devices

• Q: Which devices work perfectly with iOnRoad as tested by the developers?

• A: We maintain a list of supported devices at the
supported devices page

• Q: What are the minimum requirements for running iOnRoad on my mobile device?

• Please look at our documentation at the
supported devices page

• If your device is not yet supported, stay in touch with us! we are doing our best to expand iOnRoad's coverage!

• Q: I understand your v1 is for Android. I don’t have an Android smartphone. When do you plan to roll out an app compatible with other smartphones?

• A: Spring 2012.

Operation

Basic Operation

• Q: How can I use iOnRoad in my car?

• A: iOnRoad requires your smartphone to be mounted in a windshield (preferably) or dashboard mount, placed such that the smartphone’s camera can see the road in front of the car.

• Q: Can I use iOnRoad without a car mount?

• A: No. In order to operate, iOnRoad requires you to mount your device while driving. If you don’t have a car mount you may buy one of our tested car mounts here.

Camera Troubleshooting

• Q: When I started driving when iOnRoad is running in the background, I got an error message connecting the camera. What should I do?

• A: Make sure your camera app and any other app using the camera are closed.

Screens and Indications

• Q: What do the numbers on the headway distance monitor 'markers' indicate?

• A: The vehicle in the lane ahead of the driver is displayed and marked with a time gap in seconds, called the headway distance monitor. This distance in seconds indicates how far behind the lead vehicle the driver is and how much time there would be to react in an emergency. The headway distance monitor numbers are actually the seconds that indicate the time it would take your car, at its current speed, to reach the current position of the lead vehicle.

• Q: iOnRoad is running with the augmented reality screen for a few minutes but nothing seems to be detected yet. What should I do?

• A: Make sure your device is placed straight in your windshield mount and that nothing is blocking the camera from viewing the road.

• Q: How are the safe driving points calculated?

• A: The safe driving points are calculated as follows:

• Each moving second = 1 point

• Each second with a car detected in green zone = +1 point

• Each second with a car detected in yellow zone = -1 point

• Each second with a car detected in red zone = -2 points

• Red crash alert = -100 points

• Yellow crash alert = -40 points

Configurations

• Q: Does iOnRoad need calibration?

• A: Calibration is unnecessary with the iOnRoad app. It is done automatically each time you start driving with it and takes just a few seconds.

• Q: Can I record a video or take a snapshot of the scene on the display?

• A: You can take a single snapshot or multiple snapshots using the camera button in the AR mode.

• Q: Does iOnRoad require an online connection?

• A: Not continuously. It requires a connection to the server only once a run or once every few days.

Power Consumption

• Q: Does iOnRoad’s Automatic Driving Detection use up power?

• A: iOnRoad’s Automatic Driving Detection continually checks the state of your smartphone to decide when to start the iOnRoad app. iOnRoad’s Automatic Driving Detection hardly consumes any power when it is inactive, and only activates iOnRoad when your smartphone is mounted and the car is on the move.

• Q: Does iOnRoad consume power when running in the background?

• A: Yes. When actively running in the background (NOT in Automatic Driving Detection), iOnRoad uses up power because it continues analyzing images from your camera and warning you in dangerous situations. However, you may save power by turning off the screen while iOnRoad is running. iOnRoad will continue to protect you and the energy required to light up your screen will be saved.

Alerts

• Q: I can see the headway distance monitor turning red, but no alert is showing or sounding, why?

• A: The alerts (full screen visual pop-up and sound) are only activated when you must brake to avoid a collision. When tailing a vehicle too closely, you are putting yourself at risk by tailgating, but no immediate action needs to be taken in order to prevent an accident. That’s why only the headway distance monitor changes to yellow or red -- rather than displaying the more urgent full screen alerts and audible warnings that communicate “if you don’t brake immediately, you will crash”!

• Q: What is the significance of the timing of the full-screen and audible crash warnings?

• A: iOnRoad displays full-screen visual and audible crash alerts to grab driver attention when immediate braking is necessary to avert an accident. There are two crash alerts that are timed to appear to encourage immediate braking: the yellow full-screen alert appears and beeps when the time gap of the headway distance monitor is below 2.5 seconds. Subsequently, if the driver has not slowed the vehicle, the final red full-screen crash alert will appear and sound when the time gap drops below 1.5 seconds.

• Q: Assuming I take my eyes off the road for a second and I’m not looking at my phone, how will I know if there is an alert?

• A: You will hear audio alerts.

Product Roadmap

• Q: Which major R&D issues are on iOnRoad’s plan?

• A: We maintain and update a prioritized list of upcoming features and improvements. Right now, our top priorities are:

• Fixing bugs

• Improving iOnRoad’s image processing algorithm to reduce false alarms and get better car and lane detection.

• Develop more community-oriented features such as sharing safety points and drive statistics with friends.