New Android App “Drivemode” Allows Drivers To Use Their Phone Without Looking At It

Drivemode is a new company that was founded this year in Silicon Valley by entrepreneurs from Zipcar and Tesla Motors in conjunction with a variety of car industry experts.

Intended to meet the growing expectation for safe usage of smartphones while driving, the new Drivemode app provides access to common phone functions such as calls, messages, navigation, apps and music by using voice narration to let the user understand where they are on the menu. Additionally, the app uses bright colors and large animations to allow users to see their phone screen while only using their peripheral vision.

“We’re working with automakers to make sure our interface is good enough to even be embedded in the car,” explained Drivemode co-founder and CEO, Yo Koga. Although the company hasn’t confirmed any specific deals with automakers, they are in discussions with several at the present time. “There are guidelines from the government to ensure that you don’t have to look at the screen for more than two seconds per glance,” added Koga. “But we’re trying to make it zero by radically simplifying the interactions.”

The danger of using a phone while driving is certainly a hot topic these days, and the Drivemode app for Android may prove to be a solution for the many people who want to use their phones while driving but don’t want to jeopardize their safety or the safety of others on the road.

Drivemode co-founder and CEO, Yo Koga, was born and raised in Japan and previously spent time in Boston as a VC after attending Harvard Business School. After leading international partnerships at Zipcar, he moved to California to work for a startup and became extremely frustrated with the driving experience in general. Koga felt that there wasn’t a good interface for using a phone while driving, and the concept of Drivemode was born.

However, there are already many apps on the market that are intended to meet this need. Google has “Car Home,” which provides big buttons that can be more easily tapped while driving. There are a number of other similar apps on the market, as well as a subset of apps for drivers focused on auto-responding to texts or reading them aloud. Regardless, the interfaces on these options are not necessarily working well for drivers who truly want to remove all distractions from their driving. Drivemode is intended to allow drivers to use their smartphones without ever having to look at the device at all.

As opposed to simply offering bigger buttons or suggesting that users turn the app on and then only operate it by voice, Drivemode users can swipe through the menu while the various choices are announced with voice narration. Another great feature of Drivemode is its use of smart technology to learn a user’s behaviors in order to make better recommendations over time. For example, the app will learn a user’s routines to move common destinations, such as “work” or “home,” to the top of the navigation options list.

Users of Drivemode can access their smartphone’s apps as well, including those used for playing music and many others. Many supporting features are available as well, including incoming message readout and auto-replies to calls and messages.

Drivemode has been initially launched for a limited number of beta testers in the United States. International users can choose to provide an email address to receive alerts of future expansions by the company. After downloading the Android application from the company website (not Google Play), the activation code TCMODE can be used to get started right away.