Community Highlights: Londonderry Teen Invents “Smartwheel”

TJ Evarts is a local teenager with a big idea and dreams of launching his product to millions of drivers.

It is hard to ignore all of the information coming from our phones while driving, but a quick glance could lead to tragedy. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to the CDC.

That is why Londonderry teen TJ Evarts and his team of Inventioneers invented the SMARTwheel. This steering wheel add-on alerts drivers when they take their hands off the wheel or use a hand for texting.

SMARTwheel also uses "patented gesture recognition technology to let you control your vehicle and smart devices with simple gestures—and get real-time feedback and insights from our smartphone app to help you drive smarter."

Evarts invention has gotten praise from President Barack Obama and was featured on ABC's Shark Tank. The team was offered a deal, but instead they are focusing on crowd-funding and are currently looking to raise money on IndieGoGo.

Watch the video and see the SMARTwheel in action.