For SmileDrive, we wanted to make it simple for users to record their drives by leveraging Bluetooth technology present in most new cars and phones. The device detects when the user enters his vehicle and launches a background process to track driving until the driver leaves his vehicle.

SmileDrive records your drives in the background, capturing route, distance, time, and weather. It then delivers a drive summary at the end, giving you a report on the trip and rewarding you with badges. Your final report uses technologies such as Google Maps to draw your route, calculate distance, and detect traffic.

During the first three months since the app was launched, SmileDrive accompanied drivers on over 230,000 drives, covering over 1.1 million miles, across 2,711 trips. The app has proven to make drives engaging and memorable, with over 60,000 photos uploaded on Smilecasts and has been installed 16,109 times from the Google Play Store. SmileDrive was not only popular with the consumer, but hit the note with the press

“Volkswagen and Google launch SmileDrive Android app: it makes insufferable commutes sufferable” - Engadget

Volkswagen believes that it’s not the miles, it’s how you live them. It's not about point A to point B. It's about what's in between.

Volkswagen SmileDrive is the first social app to maximize fun on every drive. After pairing with a car’s Bluetooth, drivers can effortlessly capture experiences from the road to share with friends. At the end of each drive, the driver is given a Smile Score that sums up everything that happened on the road. During a Smilecast, photos and posts from the driver and passengers combine to make a shareable record of a special trip. Remember Punch Dub? When two Volkswagens using SmileDrive pass each other, both drivers get a punch, a uniquely VW social interaction.

The app and web platform are part of Google’s Art, Copy & Code project.