Researchers from the start-up QT-PIE, founded by the Swedish University of Örebro, together with Professor Dr Maike Schindler from the University of Cologne’s Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education and the roboticist and computer scientist Professor Dr Achim Lilienthal from the Technical University of Munich, have developed a system that evaluates driving behaviour and can be used for driver training and driving tests. Time Magazine has included QT-PIE’s invention in its recently published list of the ‘Best Inventions 2025’, recognizing its potential to make a significant contribution to improving road safety.
The system is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and uses a standard smartphone mounted on the car’s dashboard to analyse driving behaviour. The smartphone camera records the driver’s eye movements, driving actions, and the surrounding traffic situation, using this data to assess overall driving safety. “The experience I gained from using eye-tracking technology in the education sector proved very helpful in developing the system,” says Maike Schindler, who also collaborated with Achim Lilienthal to develop KI-ALF, an AI-based learning system that uses a webcam to detect learning difficulties in mathematics.
The system developed by the start-up QT-PIE enables an autonomous and objective driving test without the need for a driving instructor or examiner. Its use can be centrally monitored by the driving school. Unlike a conventional short driving test, this system allows driving behaviour to be observed over a longer period, enabling a much more accurate assessment of driving safety. The system was successfully tested during an eighteen-month pilot phase in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is going to be implemented at ten Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) test centres at the beginning of 2026 and subsequently rolled out across the entire state in 2027.
When used for autonomous driver training, the system can provide learner drivers with feedback on their driving style. The smartphone app delivers this feedback in the form of driving reports, performance scores, or annotated video sequences.
The start-up QT-PIE was founded in 2023 by Ravi Chadalavada, then a doctoral student at Örebro University, together with a team consisting of Professor Achim Lilienthal, Professor Maike Schindler, lecturer Henrik Andreasson (Örebro), and Sai Krishna (Örebro) – all renowned researchers in the fields of robotics, AI, computer vision, and eye tracking.
Media Contact:
Professor Dr Maike Schindler
Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education
+49 221 470 76726
maike.schindler(at)uni-koeln(dot)de
Press and Communications Team:
Mathias Martin
+49 221 470 1705
m.martin(at)verw.uni-koeln(dot)de
Further information:
https://qtpie.eu/
https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318544/qtpie-automated-road-test-system-arts/