Nauto has announced the results of a second third-party performance study conducted in December 2024 by The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), a globally recognized authority in transportation research.
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, to deliver faster and more accurate predictive collision alerts – and found that it delivers faster alerts to a distracted driver compared to an attentive one.
“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. “In real-world driving, every extra tenth of a second matters and translates into room for drivers to brake or swerve to avoid collisions. 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.”
Key performance findings
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 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.
The study found a 90% in-cab alert success rate for distracted driving scenarios when approaching a target; 87% of alerts in distracted driving scenarios were delivered prior to the swerve zone to help drivers avoid a collision; and a 10% faster alert speed to prevent a collision with a stationary object when the driver was distracted.
VTTI used a dash cam assessment protocol in its studies. It evaluated performance by calculating rates of in-cabin audible alerts, rates of alerts recorded on the virtual platform’s dashboard, and time to alert from the start of the tested driving behavior or from time to collision, depending on the test scenario.
In related news, Kodiak’s self-driving trucks achieve top score in Nauto driver safety evaluation