Porsche’s free “Roads” smartphone app is being expanded in functionality to include air-quality information and to enable “passionate drivers” to organize group driving trips.
“Roads is about creating more passion for driving – whether in a Porsche or any other vehicle,” said Marco Brinkmann, creator of the app from Porsche’s digital marketing department.
“With the new ‘tours’ feature, we are fulfilling our users’ long-cherished wish to be able to create joint tours within just a few clicks.”
In addition to enabling the organization of group driving tours, Porsche said the software update will also enable existing car groups to find like-minted drivers and to recruit new members. The app, available at the App Store or Apple CarPlay, launched in 2019 and has more than 100,000 users in more than 60 countries.
And now, Brinkmann added, “with the knowledge of the good air quality on their route, passionate drivers can enjoy it even more consciously.”
For example, knowing whether to drive with windows open or closed.
Porsche worked with American start-up ClimaCell to add air quality along a route to the Roads app.
“ClimaCell specializes in hyper-local and hyper-accurate weather forecasts by using hundreds of millions of sensors worldwide to analyze the weather and air quality,” Porsche noted.
“Roads uses a simple traffic light system to indicate the current level of pollution on the route being driven. This indication will allow drivers to decide if to drive with their windows down or up, and to plan the best places to stop along the way based on the air quality at exact locations.”
