Skip to main content

Saphe launches next generation in-car alert at ITS World Congress

Next-generation in-car safety product Saphe, launched at the ITS World Congress, has captured the interest of the European Commission and United Nations (UN). Violeta Bulc, European commissioner for transport, has asked for a meeting in Brussels with Saphe founder Freddy Sørensen. Saphe fits in the palm of a hand and is installed inside a car’s windscreen. The cloud-based product connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone app and, for a monthly fee, warns drivers against hazards such as ambulances approaching
September 20, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

Next-generation in-car safety product 8847 Saphe, launched at the 6456 ITS World Congress, has captured the interest of the 1690 European Commission and United Nations (UN). Violeta Bulc, European commissioner for transport, has asked for a meeting in Brussels with Saphe founder Freddy Sørensen. Saphe fits in the palm of a hand and is installed inside a car’s windscreen. The cloud-based product connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone app and, for a monthly fee, warns drivers against hazards such as ambulances approaching or when trains are coming to level crossings. Visiting the Saphe stand with Jean Todt, UN special envoy for road safety, Bulc commented: “This product is good. It can be used all over the world. Accidents involving emergency vehicles are a major problem, the same applies to trains. So we are going to have a meeting on how we can develop this together.”

Founded in 2015, Saphe was originally designed to warn motorists about speed cameras and accidents – and 400,000 of the first version have been sold in Denmark. The main difference with the second-generation product – which will go on sale in November – is the addition of a display “so you can tell more about what’s happening”. Saphe also alerts drivers about upcoming roadworks and wrong-way drivers, and warns them when they are close to schools at drop-off and pick-up times – as well pointing out accidents and speed cameras.

“Our goal of coming to Congress is to get cooperation and development with other countries. So, getting a meeting with the commissioner is fantastic,” says Sørensen.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ARTBA president: what happened to the hoverboards?
    October 28, 2019
    What keeps Dave Bauer up at night? David Arminas caught up with the head of ARTBA at his Washington, DC office during daylight hours Dave Bauer doesn’t really have many sleepless nights. He might sleep, though, with one eye open, just in case. “We have become a much more divided country politically,” says Bauer, president of ARTBA – American Road and Transportation Builders Association. “Whether you are thinking about federal government, or state or local government, there’s a hostility now in our politi
  • IBTTA Summit: satellite tolling is the future
    August 15, 2019
    IBTTA members met in Florida to consider the technological changes that will impact their businesses – including satellite tolling. Colin Sowman reports from Orlando Over decades, the technology employed in toll collection has been honed to near perfection – automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are easily within a couple of per cent of infallibility even at highway speeds. However, technical innovations beyond the confines of the toll road cannot b
  • Autopilot highlights shape of Things
    March 30, 2020
    Driverless vehicles require rich data to operate safely, and a European consortium is harnessing the Internet of Things to help.
  • Transport Systems Catapult boss: ‘We can’t build our way out of congestion’
    March 4, 2019
    The UK Transport Systems Catapult’s CEO Paul Campion talks to Colin Sowman about helping companies develop tomorrow’s solutions – and explains why you can never build your way to empty roads The future of mobility is going to be driven by services.” That’s the opening position of Paul Campion, CEO of the Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) – the UK government organisation set up to help boost transport-related employment and the economy. Campion was previously with IBM and describes himself as a ‘techno o