A new Android app called WalkSafe has been designed to watch for oncoming traffic on a busy road when a person is trying to cross the road while talking on the phone. This app may help people with visual impairment help detect approaching vehicles and take appropriate action (stay where you are/ cross the road quickly). The app uses the back camera of the phone, image recognition and machine learning algorithms to detect oncoming traffic. It alerts users by producing a loud sound and vibration.

The app can detect vehicles from 50 meters away traveling at a speed of 30 mph. The one limitation of this app is that it only detects traffic coming from one direction, not both.

As of now, WalkSafe does not have a good rating on the Android Market ( 2.2/5 from 12 users). Looks like it still needs some substantial work for it to be more widely used.

Watch the video for a quick demo: