CarVi is a device designed to make driving safer

Usually smartphones and cars are a bad combination. But the team behind CarVi wants to use your phone to make you a better driver, and they’re raising money on Indiegogo to make their vision a reality.

CarVi’s a small dashboard camera that captures and analyses video in real time. It communicates with a corresponding app on your smartphone so you can get an audio or visual alert when there’s a potential problem ahead.

The gadget’s 10cm wide and comes with a small bracket to securely attach it to your windscreen. From there, it monitors the distance between you and the car in front, keeps track of people changing lanes, and looks out for dangerous driving habits (your own as well as other people’s). At the end of the day, you’ll be able to see how safely you’ve been driving (or not) so you can improve in future.

While lots of internet-connected cars are being designed with this type of technology built-in, it’s a luxury few of us can afford. CarVi offers a cheaper, more flexible option. It’s compatible with more than 95% of cars and has been successfully tested in Ford, Nissan, Toyota, BMW and other major brands.
The Indiegogo campaign launched yesterday and has already raised $20,000 towards the $100,000 goal. CarVi has until 20 March to come up with the rest and plans to start shipping in August.

If you want to get in on the action, kick in $249 (£163) and you could be one of the first people to give it a test drive.