Nauto, a leader in AI-powered safety and operations excellence for commercial vehicles, announced the results of a second third-party performance study conducted in December 2024 by The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI).

The study evaluated Nauto's Predictive Risk Fusion technology, which combines in-cab driver monitoring and external road hazard detection, simultaneously and in real-time. 

Nauto's system is designed to deliver faster, more accurate predictive collision alerts – a capability not found in any other fleet safety technology on the market, Nauto said.

"VTTI's latest research validates that Nauto's Predictive Risk Fusion technology doesn't just detect dangerous situations, it predicts them," said Dr. Stefan Heck, CEO of Nauto. 

Key Findings of the VTTI Study

Key performance findings in daytime conditions include:

• Up to 90% in-cab alert success rate for distracted driving scenarios when approaching a target

• 87% of alerts in distracted driving scenarios delivered prior to the swerve zone to help drivers avoid a collision

• 10% faster alert speed to prevent a collision with a stationary object when the driver was distracted

VTTI Testing Methodology 

VTTI has a dash cam assessment protocol and evaluated performance by calculating rates of in-cabin audible alerts, rates of alerts recorded on the virtual platform's dashboard, and time to alert (TTA) from the start of the tested driving behavior or from time to collision, depending on the test scenario.

The VTTI test simulated high-risk driving scenarios using a light-duty vehicle and included both attentive and texting driver conditions. 

In two of three daytime test scenarios, Nauto delivered faster alerts to the distracted driver when compared to the attentive driver, giving them more time to respond and avoid a collision. These multi-factor alerts, calculated in milliseconds, can provide critical road distance for collision avoidance, particularly in distraction scenarios where time is most limited, Nauto said.

More Than 6 Billion AI-Monitored Miles

Nauto analyzed over six billion AI-monitored miles from its customers and believes that giving drivers more time to react to a potentially dangerous situation helps prevent or reduce the severity of collisions, leading to collision loss reduction of up to 80%. 

 Nauto believes that predictive collision alerts can provide critical extra reaction time that forward collision warnings from ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) offerings, which lack Nauto's unique Predictive Risk Fusion capabilities, cannot. 

By helping drivers mitigate and avoid collisions, the Nauto solution may also reduce the cost and criticality of collisions with vulnerable road users (VRUs), thereby reducing fatalities and serious injuries while helping fleets avoid multi-million-dollar nuclear verdicts. 

Nauto has conducted its own analysis on when an alert is warranted and what type of alert to sound based on a holistic view of situational risk in order to grant drivers a better experience, gain more trust in the system, and ultimately become safer drivers.

"In real-world driving, every extra tenth of a second matters and translates into room for drivers to brake or swerve to avoid collisions,” Heck added. “By simultaneously recognizing driver behaviors and external risks, we're giving drivers the extra time they need to stay safe and fleets a proven way to reduce losses and lower insurance costs."

Nauto’s website provides the entire VTTI report and offers more details about Nauto's AI Predictive Risk Fusion.