It deploys your smartphone like a dashcam, recording your commutes.* Stored in the cloud, that video footage can come in handy if you’re filing an insurance claim after a crash. Using artificial intelligence, it also helps Nexar predict possible accidents: The company combines the videos with data from your phone’s accelerometer and gyroscope to detect and alert you to dicey driving conditions.

Now some of the live footage from Nexar users—who number in the hundreds of thousands, in 160 countries—is available for anyone who wants a gander. The web-based Live Map, which shows close-to-real-time street views snapped from their dashboards, launched in July for New York City, and is soon to roll out in hundreds of other cities. The interactive web map is updated every few minutes with freshly captured chunks of streetscape. Using AI, it also identifies key features on the roads, such as traffic signals, stop signs, traffic cones, and barricades.
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