-- 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