A dad has created an app to keep his kids entertained and combat complaints of boredom on long car journeys. Despite having no previous experience in the tech development field, Tom Cullen developed the Family Road Trip app with the help of AI.
Tom, who is the proud dad to 10-year-old Abbey and Emily, 7, spends plenty of time on the road with his loved ones. But being behind the wheel, the dad, from Clarkston, near Glasgow, was unable to stop his girls getting bored.
Speaking about the inspiration for his app, Tom explained: “We drive long distances regularly to visit family or go on holiday, and the trips always result in my daughters complaining of being bored. Both get travel sick if they try to read or play their iPads so the time can pass very slowly.”
He added: “I searched for an app we could play in the car that wouldn’t involve looking down but I couldn’t find any so I thought I could create my own. I’ve never done anything like that before but with the help of my assistant – Chat GPT – I managed to make an app.”
The devoted dad designed games such as Eye Spy, riddles, and general knowledge quizzes that can be tackled as a family during long drives, Glasgow Live reports. The app allows users to respond to challenges via Siri, meaning that even the driver can join in without taking their hands off the wheel or their eyes off the road.
With over 1,500 questions stored on Family Road Trip, families are likely to be kept occupied for the duration of their travels. The app’s description outlines how the interactive challenges are intended to “turn family trips into unforgettable adventures” and “bring families closer together.”
Tom, who works as an aeronautical engineer at Rolls Royce, revealed that his app has already been a smash hit with his own children when they trialled it on a trip to The Netherlands last summer.
He said: “The girls loved the app on the long drive and it seemed to stop ‘I’m bored’ being said quite as frequently as usual.”
After receiving his children’s seal of approval, Tom launched Family Road Trip on the Apple App Store earlier this year. It has received glowing five-star reviews, and Tom hopes to replicate this success on Android soon.
You can download Family Road Trip here.
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