Thousands of drivers in South Africa are using a mobile app whose technology is powered by Cambridge-based software and data analytics startup Cambridge Mobile Telematics to help them be safer on the road.

CMT, which recently emerged out of stealth mode, announced last week that it has partnered with a South African-based insurance company to launch a “Fitbit for cars” mobile app to incentivize better driving habits.

The app, which tracks the way people drive and gives them tips on how to become safer drivers, is being used by about 50,000 people in South Africa since it was released earlier this summer.

“It’s exciting to take a research project out of MIT and get it into the real world, with a mission to make roads and drivers safer everywhere,” said CMT’s chief technology officer and co-founder Hari Balakrishnan.

CMT was born out of a research project at MIT focused on mobile sensing and the use of mobile sensors on vehicles and data generated from those sensors. That project started in 2005.

Full Article