QMIC Hosts the First Meeting of the Salamtek Consortium for Tackling Distracted Driving Due to Mobile Phones

25 January 2015: Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC) hosted the first meeting for the Salamtek consortium that focuses on delivering innovative solutions for minimizing phone usage while driving. The meeting was held at the QMIC office in the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). During the meeting it was announced that Vodafone Qatar has joined to become the sixth member of the national consortium. The meeting which was attended by most members focused on reviewing the national goals and ambitions of the consortium and getting an update on the overall progress made by QMIC in having a number of solutions ready for national deployment. In addition, the consortium members discussed marketing activities and reward mechanisms to promote the use of Salamtek solutions.

In support of its initiative to tackle the distracted driving problem caused by mobile phones, in Nov 2014 QMIC has formed the Salamtek Consortium which now includes key national organizations: the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning (MMUP), Traffic Directorate of the Ministry of Interior (Muroor), Ooredoo Qatar, Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), Vodafone Qatar, Road Safety Studies Center (RSSC) of Qatar University. The consortium will ensure that a coordinated national effort is conducted to speed up the development of innovative solutions and come up with efficient mechanisms for the deployment of these solutions in the market place.

Since the official launch of the Salamtek Consortium in November 2014 where QMIC also announced a portfolio of innovative solutions for addressing the distracted driving problem, the QMIC team has been working relentlessly in finalizing the development and testing of a number of solutions before launching them nationally. These solutions will be optimized for different user segments including personal use, family use, and enterprise use and will work across multiple phone platforms. In preparation for publicly launching the updated personal solution for Android devices in Feb 2015, the consortium members discussed the details of a coordinated marketing campaign and reward mechanisms that will be offered to maximize usage and adoption of the solution.

Mr. Abdulaziz Al Khal, Deputy Executive director (CEO) of QMIC said, “A strong consortium made up of key national organizations, from diverse fields, will effectively promote the development, deployment, and user adoption of solutions that can limit phone usage while driving. We are proud and privileged to work with these national entities to form a coordinated effort in applying strategies for creating the largest impact possible in reducing distracted driving. Today’s meeting was a kick off meeting discussing QMIC’s progress on Salamtek solutions thus far, and what the next steps will be. I am delighted to see the energy and enthusiasm brought to us by each of the consortium members and look forward to growing this initiative, in a combined effort, further”.

The Salamtek solutions and applications are focused on managing driver distraction in a user-friendly manner. The different solutions will seamlessly change phone behavior above certain speeds, eliminating any distracting elements caused by mobile phone, while driving.

Distracted driving is a complex problem with no single solution for it. QMIC has been executing an R&D strategy to deliver a portfolio of solutions in coordination with the Salamtek consortium to ensure efficient delivery in the market place and to maximize user adoption. The use of mobile phones while driving is a leading cause for distracted driving.

About QMIC:

The Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC), located at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), is the first independent regional innovations center that was created to leverage the use of emerging mobility technologies and lifestyle in developing and deploying intelligent solutions and smart applications for use in a number of markets including Transportation, Road Safety, Environment, and Smart City Platforms. QMIC was founded with the objective of filling the existing gap in the region for institutions focusing on applied research and solutions delivery with the aim of creating local knowledge-based ventures.

For further information please contact:

[email protected], +974 44592702