If there’s anything that has proven to be one of the downsides of having all these mobile devices, it’s the fact that it has caused so many accidents on the road and has killed so many lives in the process. You see pedestrians swiping and tapping away on their phones as they cross the road, or drivers answering their phone or texting while the vehicle is in motion. Well, as far as the pedestrians are concerned, they would just have to restrain themselves for now. But for drivers who just can’t fight the urge to look at their phone at every sound it makes, the RayGo App promises not only to make their mobile experience hands-free, but ‘eyes-free’ as well!

Based on a kind of smartphone technology created for the blind, the RayGo app promises to make driving a whole lot safer, especially for those who just can’t get their hands and eyes off of their phones. You can check notifications, texts, and emails, receive calls, and a lot more using a nifty RayGo controller clamped onto your steering wheel. With an attractive black and yellow motif, it has five buttons that allow you to interact with your phone and the app that powers the gadget up. The unit is paired to your phone via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the companion app is only offered for Android users at the moment, but an iOS version would probably be in the works.

What Does the RayGo Do?

What does the app do? It basically converts your calendar, your Gmail app, and a lot of other apps that you frequently use into drive mode. And once they’re set up for drive mode, they become simplified versions of their full apps and can then be operated using your steering wheel controller or by giving voice commands.

But it still could be a distraction as you drive, right? Its inventors, Michael Vakulenko and Boaz Zilberman, actually anticipated these questions and decided to add a few safety features. For instance, the device actually pauses or stops functioning when it know that it’s a critical time. It relies on your GPS components and on your accelerometer, which means that it knows when your speed is quite fast, or when you’re making a turn. And in both of these instances, the app automatically goes on standby mode and only works once you’ve slowed down again or have finished making the turn.

Of course, despite these safety features, the RayGo could still possibly be a distraction for drivers especially when they’re still starting to get used to the device. There will definitely be no ‘eyes-free’ driving happening if you’re fumbling around your steering wheel, trying to look for the right button to press. This also means that your hands would have to stay at specific positions on the wheel, just so you could have easy access to the device. The airbags are also an issue, as the device could be a possible distraction when the airbag is deployed.

So is it a worthy investment for $299?

Image Source:

http://www.digifloor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/raygo-device-one.jpg