Uber had a Safety workshop today and in line with the theme is the day, they announced a new safety feature for the Kenyan market: Ride Check.
Ride Check is a safety feature that proactively surfaces tools riders and drivers may need when they detect something may have gone wrong.
How does it work? Well, GPS is the backbone of how Uber works. Uber uses GPS to know where and when a customer is riding as well as the driver. Using this GPS data combined with other sensors in driver’s smartphones, Uber says their technology can detect possible crashes or if a trip goes unusually off course.
This tech sounds pretty cool. We know that they are obviously using GPS as the main backbone of the system, but the other sensors that Uber uses are a mystery
The company says that this technology uses other sensors found in smartphones in conjunction with GPS. They didn’t specify which sensors per se, but I would guess that they’ll rely in data from the gyroscope (that measures tilt and orientation) and the accelerometer (measures change in velocity). I believe this why Uber has a specific list of phones that they do not want their partners to have.
When RideCheck is activated, both the rider and driver will receive notifications asking if everything is okay. They can let Uber know through the app that all is well or they can take actions like using emergency buttons or reporting the issue to Uber’s Safety Line.
This new feature joins the multitude of safety features Uber has included in its app. This includes the Safety Center, Trusted Contacts and more.
