VW'S SMILEDRIVE APP
Volkswagen teams up with Deutsch LA and Google to make hitting the road fun again.
Their SmileDrive app was designed to reinforce VW's “long history of remarkable storytelling” - and to maximise fun on every drive.
Whether you’re commuting to work or traveling cross-country, SmileDrive records your drives, awards you stickers for unique accomplishments (such as going on a holiday trip or driving on an unusually cold day), and turns road trips into shareable stories.The app can be used with any vehicle, even if it’s not a Volkswagen.
SmileDrive has been designed to work with any car equipped with Bluetooth technology, and it runs in the background to record data for both everyday commutes and road trips.
After a drive is complete, the app uses factors like location, distance, time and weather to deliver users their Smile Score and awards them with “stickers,” i.e. virtual bumper stickers, for unique accomplishments earned while out and about.
The app has also re-imagined the classic “PunchDub” game, allowing people to collect “punches” each time they encounter another Volkswagen SmileDrive user running the app on the road.
Additionally, SmileDrive offers the ability to create a Smilecast: a dynamic travelogue filled with the captured photos, maps of the trip, status updates, as well as other memories that are collected on a single URL. Through the URL, friends and family that you designate can view the Smilecast after the trip has ended.
Through the user’s Google+ account, friends can be invited to follow these trips online, commenting on photos and posts along the way, which allows for “Seamless Sharing”.
Another feature includes “Smilecast” where friends can be added as a passenger in the car via Google+, or watch the journey on the web. At the end of the trip, the driver receives a trip highlight video compiling the highlights of their trip, which can then be shared with friends and family.
There’s also a handy Find My Car feature that lets you get directions to your vehicle’s last parked location.
Video: VW "SmileDrive" by Deutsch LA
