Nauto is a real-time, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered driver behavior learning platform. It predicts, actively prevents, and helps reduce high-risk events.

What sets Nauto apart from its competition is its “AI on the edge capabilities.”

“This capability makes Nauto the only solution on the market that can analyze sensor data from driver behaviors, exterior hazards, and vehicle movement on the device, in the vehicle, and in real-time. By deploying AI, Nauto can detect risky driving events with high accuracy in real-time, enabling our technology to alert a driver to help them avoid an incident,” said Shweta Shrivastava, chief product officer at Nauto.

To date, the company has helped its customers avoid more than 25,000 collisions and save more than $100 million in claims.

“Nauto saves fleets time and money by providing fleet managers with the data to create better safety programs, expedite claims filing processes, and monitor driver safety. Nauto’s technology has helped reduce customers’ reported claims by over 35% on average, with some customers reporting a more than 80% reduction in claims. What’s more, the ongoing benefits provided by Nauto help fleets lower their insurance premiums over time,” Shrivastava added.

Safety Alert Tech Saves Lives

While automotive safety alerts such as lane departure warnings have their purpose, the crux of the issues they solve generally relates to driver distraction, according to Nauto.

“Aside from not addressing the root of the issue (distracted driving), alerts like lane departure and blind-spot warnings have become so frequent that they get tuned out by drivers,” Shrivastava said.

Knowing that more than 70% of collisions involve distracted driving, Nauto designed its in-vehicle alerts to predict and prevent high-risk events, getting the driver’s attention back on the road.

“With our platform, our customers have noticed a significant decrease in distracted driving frequency, duration, and distance traveled — averaging 40% in reduced distraction frequency. When you’re able to get the driver’s attention back on the road, the need for many of the other types of common safety alerts falls significantly,” Shrivastava said.

Alerts Drivers Listen To

Drivers face alert overload, from tire pressure changes and seatbelt reminders to lane departure notifications. Given how nagging and annoying typical alerts can be to some, data suggests drivers revert to finding ways to disable them. 

“For our distraction alerts, we thought hard about what would be effective and not annoying,” Shrivastava said.

Nauto’s system features three levels of alerts depending on the length of distraction:

• Behavior nudge: The first alert is issued 2.5 seconds after a distraction event is detected.

• Voice coaching: The second alert is activated if the driver continues to be distracted for more than four seconds, and includes a verbal cue, “distracted!”

• Urgent Alert: The third alert is triggered if the driver continues to be distracted for more than five seconds.

Video Creates a Full Package

With more than 70% of collisions involving distracted drivers, there is a huge opportunity to address this issue with intelligent, automated alerts.

“Nauto’s embedded AI, combined with our dual-facing camera sensors, can assess situational risk and distraction severity in real-time, allowing our technology to alert drivers in the moment and help prevent collisions,” Shrivastava said.

In addition to in-vehicle alerts, Nauto automatically uploads a video of detected risky events to the cloud for fleet managers to review.

Combined with other event data, Nauto packages prioritized guided workflows with video of coachable events, equipping fleet managers with the information they need to have an informed conversation with drivers about improving on-the-road decision-making. 

“Our technology’s ability to record and automatically upload both in-cabin and exterior incidents to the cloud helps fleet managers save time and money when submitting claims. Moreover, this sort of video evidence helps fleets combat wrongful claims and protect their brand. Some of our customers have seen up to 70% driver exoneration in wrongful at-fault insurance investigations,” Shrivastava said.

2020 Priorities & Tech

One of the most significant expenditures when managing a fleet is the operational cost, which continues to rise for fleets.

“One key area where technology can play a large role in helping manage or reduce costs is collision frequency and severity. Nauto’s ability to reduce distracted driving provides a trickle-down effect of savings: reducing collisions helps fleets save money on their insurance premiums while also keeping a fleet’s vehicles on the road longer and eliminating preventable maintenance downtime,” Shrivastava said.

Additionally, when collisions do occur, Nauto’s platform automatically detects the incident and notifies fleet managers to file first notice of loss, immediately providing all the necessary information for fleet managers to quickly complete their claims, saving both time and money.

It’s no secret that the trucking industry has faced a personnel shortage over the past few years.

“This issue may be compounded as much of the existing workforce reaches retirement age. As fleets look to attract younger drivers to the profession, safety technology plays a key role. Trucking has long been considered a dangerous profession, and new entrants to the industry prioritize organizations that show a true commitment to the safety of their drivers. Additionally, coaching technology is instrumental in training this new generation of truck drivers,” Shrivastava said.