Android Developers Blog: Making Pixel better for Drivers

Making Pixel better for Drivers

Posted by Marc Stogaitis and Tajinder Gadh, Software Engineers

Driving is an essential part of our daily activities. So at Google we spend a lot of time thinking how we can make Android devices better and safer for our users. How we can prevent distracted driving and together build an open ecosystem to enable safety first smartphone experiences.
Recently we launched Driving Do-Not-Disturb on the newly announced Pixel 2 generation of devices. Once enabled, Driving Do-Not-Disturb automatically puts your device into a do not disturb mode while driving. During this mode any incoming messages and notifications are silenced while you can still receive incoming calls, navigation directions and voice interactions using a connected Car bluetooth. The product is designed to limit distractions during driving while at the same time not getting in the way so users can continue to use navigation or other similar apps with minimal friction.
Behind the scenes, it uses AI powered on-device Activity Recognition that detects when a person is driving using low power signals from multiple sensors, bluetooth and WiFi. Activity Recognition uses the Android Sensor Hub to ensure low latency, low power and accurate driving detection.
This is a next step in our journey, but we are far from done. Early next year we are introducing the Activity Recognition Transition API, which is the same API used by Driving Do Not Disturb to build distraction-free driving experiences.
We appreciate the feedback, and will continue to listen to your feedback as the product evolves.
If you have questions about setting up the Driving Do-Not-Disturb, check out our Help Center.