DriveSafe




[Background]

This project was designed for the Shad Valley program. In this around 525 students go to different universities around Canada, and are split into teams. Each university has between 40 and 60 people, and the teams around around 15 people in each team.

At the university I went to, University of New Brunswick, our team created the company called RED Co decided the product to make was the DriveSafe.

[Objective]

The purpose of the RedCo DriveSafe is to detect and eliminate erratic driving of any kind, whether it is alcohol induced, caused by inexperience, or simply unsafe driving. The device could save many lives and make our roads significantly safer for everyone.

[Detection System]

The system uses an accelerometer chip to measure the acceleration and jerkiness of the movement of a car. If prolonged erratic driving is detected (eg. Swerving across the road or accelerating and stopping very quickly), the system gives a warning to the driver. If the erratic behavior continues, the RedCo DriveSafe immobilizes the vehicle. As well the hazard lights are activated and the horn sounded, giving near-by drivers warning.

[Immobilization System]

When the unit has detected enough erratic driving to trigger the shutdown mechanism, it simply uses a relay switch to cut power to the electric fuel pump of the vehicle. This causes the engine to lose power and stall. The car then rolls to a controlled stop. While the fuel pump is shut off, the hazard lights are activated and the horn sounds, alerting other drivers of the situation. The hazard lights remain on until the system has been reset using a switch in the engine compartment of the car and the vehicle can be restarted.

[More Information]

See the RED Co website for what exactly this is and more information on the program. There was a buisness plan involved and whatnot, although I stayed on the prototype commitee so I really only know the technical side of the project and not much about the business side!

Anyway I decided to release all the plans on the web - the download includes:
[Download]

You can visit the project on AVRFreaks at:
http://www.avrfreaks.net/Freaks/freakshow.php and search for DriveSafe
Or get them from the local mirror: drivesafe.zip [1.7 MB]

[Awards]

At the Shad Cup, the project won Best Business Plan and 2nd best prototype. See http://www.shad.ca/Cup_winners_2003.htm.

There was also some cover on the discovery channel, you can view the video at http://www.exn.ca/video/?video=exn20031017-shad1.asx. I happened to be around then, so that is yours truely in the interview. LINK DEAD AS OF OCT 2008