“SafeDrive” — an innovative smart car gadget that turns vehicles into “safe, smart and connected” car was launched here on Thursday.

Designed, developed and manufactured by Elsys Intelligent Devices, a former startup incubated by the Kerala Startup Mission, the easy-to-install gadget is compatible with most cars in India.

Equipped with crash sensors, GPS module, microphone, speaker and cellular connectivity, SafeDrive offers an “In-Vehicle Emergency Call” feature that automatically notifies the emergency cenitre for help in the event of a severe collision — even when the victims are unable to respond due to injury or shock.

Launching the gadget, Kerala Police chief Loknath Behera called for an awareness and an increased emphasis on innovation in vehicular safety, as around 2,000 lives were lost in accidents on state’s roads in the first-half of the current year.

“While the Kerala Police will do its best to enforce traffic safety rules, society must realise that we share a collective responsibility to prevent accidents. Enforcement will only work if coupled with awareness. A driving licence is not a licence to kill,” said Behera.

Upon detecting a serious impact, SafeDrive initiates a voice call and sends out a “Minimum Set of Data” that includes the exact location of the incident and speed of the vehicle.

This helps the emergency centre assess the situation, speak with the victims, notify their family/friends and coordinate emergency assistance.

Other features include a one-touch assistance button, hands-free two-way calling, live vehicle tracking, trip history, smart alerts, roadside assistance, driving analysis and score.

“SafeDrive is a made-in-India solution to a global concern. As the automobile industry is racing towards connected and self-driving cars, we are building a network of emergency and essential services that all existing cars and the future cars can connect to.

“We have so far aggregated a network of over 3,500 road-emergency service providers across India. We are approaching automobile manufacturers, insurance providers, road transport entities and law enforcement agencies to extend this network to as many people as possible,” said Elsys co-founder and CEO Prasad Pillai.