Acusensus is a

technology company A technology company (or tech company) is a company that focuses primarily on the manufacturing, support, research and development of—most commonly computing, telecommunication and consumer electronics–based—technology-intensive products and ...

that provides automated recognition of drivers using mobile phones while driving in order to enforce traffic safety laws intended to prevent

distracted driving Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the driver's attention away from the road. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehic ...

History

Acusensus was founded in 2018 by Alexander Jannink and Ravin Mirchandani. It is headquartered in Queen Street, Melbourne, Australia. Jannink was inspired to co-found the company after a friend riding a bicycle was killed by a driver who was allegedly driving drunk and using a cell phone. Jannink wanted to address issues of road safety, where fatality rates have been increasing since 2013. With Mirchandani, the chairman of Ador Powertron, an Indian industrial electronics company, raised $600,000 to launch the company, and enrolled it in an accelerator program at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Partnership

In 2018, Acusensus led a three-month-long trial in partnership with

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...

to test its technology for detecting the illegal use of mobile phones while driving, such as texting or accepting incoming calls while holding the phone. The trial was a success, detecting the illegal use of mobile phones by 11,000 drivers, who were issued warning letters. It was followed by an operational pilot in two

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

locations from January to April 2019. Transport for NSW believes the pilot to have been the first of its kind in the world. It successfully detected 100,000 drivers using a mobile device illegally among 8,500,000 vehicles checked. The project drew scrutiny from the state's Privacy Commissioner, who raised concerns about the legality of collecting personal information of every individual in a vehicle that passed the pilot's cameras, even those that were determined to be non-offenders, and urged Transport for NSW to develop a policy that balanced the public interest in improving road safety with the risk of privacy harms. Transport for NSW made the program permanent starting in December 2019. During the first three months, violators received warning letters, and enforcement via fines and

demerit points A penalty point or demerit point system revokes or suspends a person's driving license based on the number of points accumulated over a specific period. Points are assigned for traffic offenses and infringements committed during this time. The de ...

began on 1 March 2020.

Recognition

Acusensus's technology has since been used in similar pilots in the United Kingdom and Canada, and in a New South Wales trial that examined compliance with stop signs at railway crossings. In January 2023, Acusensus listed on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

References

{{reflist Australian companies established in 2018 Companies based in Melbourne Software companies established in 2018