Vehicle risks assessment using a nokia N95

This paper presents an application capable of identifying hazardous spots in roads and dangerous situations caused by human mistakes or reckless driving. Our work relies on a mobile phone since most users already have one and usually take it with them everywhere they go, even when they travel by car. Specifically, we use a Nokia N95 because is provided with GPS (global positioning system) and an accelerometer which make it possible to perform an economic, preventive, non invasive and efficient monitoring. Our application analyzes the data coming from these two independent and correlated sources of information during a car journey. The development of an application specifically designed for Nokia N95 was required. This application was to capture all the necessary data that would, afterwards, be analyzed off-line in a computer. The result is a report on the route and any potential problems that may have arisen along the journey using a geographic information system (GIS) as support. This standard-based report can be visualized with various compatible GIS. We have used Google Earth due to its public and free accessibility. Results in different road trips by different drivers have proven the validity of the approach.