Uber tests using smartphone sensors to monitor driver behavior

Uber is running a test program that uses data from drivers’ smartphones gyroscope, GPS and accelerometer to monitor their driving behaviour. After complaints about driving style, Uber can check the data afterwards.

Uber wants to be able to check why passengers give drivers low scores after rides, and technology can help with this, the company said. Uber indicates that it is working on a pilot in which feedback with smartphone technology is verified. “Gyroscopes in phones can measure small movements, while GPS and accelerometers can show, in addition to speed, how often a vehicle starts and stops,” reports Uber.

The test involved checks afterwards, following complaints from passengers, but Uber also wants to use the data proactively. “If the data shows that a driver is continuously moving his smartphone, we can offer mounts, for example,” according to the taxi service. In addition, Uber wants to temper the ‘enthusiasm’ of drivers if it turns out that they cover a route much faster than average.

The measures should eventually lead to drivers complying better with speed and other traffic rules.