The real problem is industry-wide adoption of metrics-driven design.
When I studied cognitive science, the method we employed for HCI was User Centered System Design. Granted, this was a backronym for UCSD, but the point remains — design should be user-centered, not metrics-driven.
When I launch Netflix, it is abundantly clear to me that their design is driven by their metrics. What I want to see at the top is my “continue watching” shows — 99% of the time I just want to watch the next episode of a show that I’m already watching. Instead, they show me row upon row of shows that I have never watched. Their metrics prove to them that getting me hooked on new shows will increase my engagement and increase the amount of time I spend in their app. Guess what? As a user, those are not my goals! Their UI is effectively one big advertisement for Netflix itself. Wonderful.
Unfortunately, virtually all tech companies have accepted metrics-driven design as conventional wisdom at this point. Run an A/B test and see which button treatment performs better, based on the metrics the company cares about — not what the user cares about.
One outlier here is Apple. They do not design based on experiments and metrics. And the Apple TV app does in fact display the shows I am already watching as the top row. Go figure.
We designed our own magnetic phone mount, which comes with the product. Once you start mounting your phone in your car (especially with our mount, which is amazing), you won't want a separate screen for your camera. :)
The advantages of mounting your smartphone, with the cutting edge hardware and active software ecosystem that come along with it, are truly huge. When I rent a car now I am incredibly frustrated without the mount. Luckily ours has a magnetic pluggable backend, so I can pull it off my adhesive mount and attach the vent clip for use in other cars.
We are using industry standard encryption algorithms for all of our wireless traffic. We are also consulting with external security experts, in addition to the expertise we have in-house.
All of our over-the-air firmware updates are cryptographically signed.
We do require an OBD port, which is present on all cars 1996 and newer.
Other than that, it should work on basically all cars, assuming you don't have e.g. an existing backup camera that mechanically blocks the installation.
The solar window is actually transparent. Our PD team is second to none! They were able to make the whole solar assembly look uniformly black while not sacrificing solar efficiency.
Excellent question. It takes decades for new features to fan out to the majority of new cars. After that it then takes decades more for those features to reach saturation of all cars on the road, because only 7% of the car population turns over each year.
The bottom line is it's generally 40 years from the point when features like seat belts, air bags, traction control, and backup cameras are first introduced and when they reach 95% saturation.
Throughout this adoption process, demand for these features among those whose cars don't have them increases significantly!
The RearVision comes with a security tool that is used to attach and remove the camera frame. The camera frame and the OBD adapter are also paired at the factory and will not function in isolation.
The OBD adapter does serve a very important role in the system in that it has a power source and can wake the camera frame when necessary (before you ever launch the app!). All of our vision algorithms also run on the OBD adapter, which is a key aspect of the power model.
The video screen is definitely the main focus of the app, for obvious reasons. When the video stops, we also show an app launcher screen that's optimized for use in the car (large touch targets :) ), which you can configure to include a few of your favorite music or nav apps.
There is! The solar charging should be enough for most everybody. We have done testing in a variety of locations. As a backup, though, it can be charged over USB.
With literally zero solar charging and under normal usage, the battery should last over a month. Most people get at least some solar charging, though! If nothing else, at least while they are driving, parked at the grocery store, etc.
We've really tried to make this experience as smooth as possible. The product comes with a superb magnetic dash mount for your phone. Frequently our app will show up on your lock screen in iOS, so you can just slide up to launch into the video view.
We will of course leverage whatever tools both platforms provide to make the launching experience as seamless as it can be! We can also take cues from accelerometers, the OBD port, and other sensors, as you mention.
Based on our design and testing, the solar should keep the vast majority of users charged up (it has for me!). As a backup we do support USB charging as well.
It's such an amazing feeling to put your blood and sweat into a product for months and finally be able to share it with the world. It's great to take our startup out of stealth mode today!
I couldn't imagine a better group of people to do it with, either.
This story starts out reporting on a board ousting a CEO after a public scandal involving non-compliance with various laws, which incited multiple government investigations.
It then takes an abrupt turn and starts repeating everyone's favorite Silicon Valley trope du jour: the unicorn bubble is bursting, the fundraising environment is tightening up, and the halcyon days of multi-billion dollar valuations for everyone are over.
When I studied cognitive science, the method we employed for HCI was User Centered System Design. Granted, this was a backronym for UCSD, but the point remains — design should be user-centered, not metrics-driven.
When I launch Netflix, it is abundantly clear to me that their design is driven by their metrics. What I want to see at the top is my “continue watching” shows — 99% of the time I just want to watch the next episode of a show that I’m already watching. Instead, they show me row upon row of shows that I have never watched. Their metrics prove to them that getting me hooked on new shows will increase my engagement and increase the amount of time I spend in their app. Guess what? As a user, those are not my goals! Their UI is effectively one big advertisement for Netflix itself. Wonderful.
Unfortunately, virtually all tech companies have accepted metrics-driven design as conventional wisdom at this point. Run an A/B test and see which button treatment performs better, based on the metrics the company cares about — not what the user cares about.
One outlier here is Apple. They do not design based on experiments and metrics. And the Apple TV app does in fact display the shows I am already watching as the top row. Go figure.