Sat 02:47 · 2 h 14 min on the road · 23 °C
Stay awake while driving. Your iPhone watches your eyelids for you.
Mount your iPhone on the windshield. Road Companion notices drowsy driving in your eyelids, speaks up before it turns into sleep, and helps you find a place to stop.
No photos saved · Works in airplane mode · No subscription
Three stages
It starts quietly. It only gets loud when it has to.
Road Companion does not wait for an emergency. It speaks up at the first sign, suggests a break when the signs add up, and sounds the alarm only when your eyes actually stay closed.
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Light warning
Your blinks get longer: the average of your last 5 blinks reaches 0.3 seconds.
A short chime and a calm spoken line: “Shall we open the window a little?”
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Break suggestion
3 long eye closures of 0.5 seconds or more within 10 minutes.
A break suggestion and a button that opens Google Maps with a search for rest areas.
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Alarm
Your eyes stay closed for more than 1 second.
A loud alarm and vibration, immediately.
See it for yourself
A tired driver's eyelids, the way the app sees them.
Road Companion does not recognise your face and does not care who you are. It measures two things: how open your eyelids are, and how long they stay closed.
Press play and watch the blinks get slower. The three stages arrive in the same order as on the road.
Demo only: no camera, no sound. The thresholds are the app's real ones.
Why it matters
Drowsy driving rarely looks dramatic. It looks like a quiet, straight road.
Being awake for 17 hours lowers performance about as much as a blood alcohol level of 0.05%. Dawson & Reid, Nature, 1997
What the camera sees, and what it keeps
Your face never leaves the phone. It isn't even kept on it.
Each frame is processed in memory: the openness of your eyelids becomes a number, and the frame is discarded. The only thing saved is the trip summary you see at the end, on your iPhone. It works the same in airplane mode, because nothing is sent to any server.
Photos or videos saved.
Servers the app sends anything to. Try it in airplane mode.
Accounts, analytics or ads.
No location permission. Google Maps finds the rest area, not the app.
Built for the road
The small things that matter at three in the morning.
10-second alignment
Place the phone 40–70 cm from your face. A 10-second check makes sure it can see your eyes.
Works in the dark
On iPhones with Face ID, the TrueDepth camera uses infrared light, so it sees your eyelids at night.
Sunglasses mode
When it cannot see your eyes, it watches your head tilt instead.
Phone calls
During a call, warnings come by vibration only.
Break timer
A 15-minute break timer, then a 60-second alertness check before you drive on.
Trip summary
Driving time, warnings and breaks, stored only on your iPhone.
Honest limits
What it is not.
Not a medical device
Road Companion helps you notice drowsiness. It is no substitute for rest. If it warns you, the answer is a break.
It must stay on screen
On iPhone the app must stay on screen. If it goes to the background, tracking stops and a notification tells you so.
Price
One price, paid once.
Road Companion
- All three warning stages
- Break timer and alertness check
- Trip summary on your device
- No in-app purchases, no subscription, no ads
Price in the US App Store. In other countries the App Store shows the local price.
Questions
Does Road Companion record me?
No. Each camera frame is processed in memory and discarded. No photo or video is saved, and nothing is sent to any server.
Does it work at night?
Yes. On iPhones with Face ID, the TrueDepth camera uses infrared light, so it can see your eyelids in the dark.
Can I use navigation at the same time?
On iPhone the app must stay on screen to keep watching. If it goes to the background, tracking stops and a notification tells you so.
Does it need an internet connection?
No. It works in airplane mode. The rest-area button opens Google Maps, which is a separate app with its own connection.
What does it cost?
US$4.99, once. There are no in-app purchases and no subscription.
Is it a medical device?
No. It helps you notice drowsiness. It is no substitute for rest: if it warns you, take a break.
Have a good trip.
Get it on the App Store