Gulf Times hosts innovative, enterprising CMU-Q graduates

Considering the fact that many of the road traffic accidents in the world are caused by distracted drivers, an idea developed as a startup pitch by a group of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) graduates may prove to be a boon to enhance road safety.

The idea, which the team developed during a three-day competition, is an all-in-one, dashboard-mounted, heads-up display and mobile phone carriage to make sure drivers keep their eyes on the road. The system provides access to driving directions and advanced safety features like night vision and collision detection, without having drivers look at their mobile phones.

VisKit took first place at Quick Startup 2019, a contest for university students and new graduates to create a business plan and investor pitch over the course of a weekend.

VisKit was developed by a team comprising four graduating seniors from CMU-Q’s Business Administration Program: Ommar Aburaddad, Mohamed Hamdi, Faisal Mir and Haris Syed.

Three members of the team — Mir, Syed and Aburaddad — recently visited Gulf Times Editor-in-Chief Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka at his office as part of their efforts to explore the prospects of their idea as a startup business venture.

VisKit upholds the motto: Empowering Ordinary Cars With the Future of Safety.

“The idea is to help Qatar reduce road accidents by putting a very proactive system in place. With several advanced features, VisKit’s technology will help Qatar improve the current situation by reducing road accidents," Mir told Gulf Times.

According to data available with the Ministry of Interior, Qatar records 800 road accidents a day on an average.

The CMU-Q students have found 51% of the total accidents are caused by motorists who use mobile phones while driving.

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