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| Photo courtesy of blog.chryslerllc.com |
Smartphones are becoming an extension of the vehicle as we know it. They're far more useful than electronic features built into the car as web-based applications are much easier to update and it's more difficult for them to become outdated. They allow the driver to stay in touch while IN the vehicle, but also allow him/her to access data about the car while away from it. Take GM, for example. Their iOS OnStar application allows drivers to remotely start their car from their mobile device. The app also allows the driver to remotely lock, unlock, flash headlights, and honk your horn; things we've all wished we'd been able to do at some point in our lives when trying to find our cars in a crowded lot.
Audi is taking the automotive smartphone development to a whole new level with their latest CarMonitor application. This invention allows the driver to plug in his/her smartphone into the car's OBD II port on the dashboard to allow the phone to communicate with the car's engine computer, enabling the driver to track important fuel performance data among other statistics. Audi is taking the social networking approach and allowing the driver to upload the data onto the web to allow them to compare their statistics with those of other Audi users. Knowing how competitive the automotive world is, it is difficult not to picture just about any automaker to soon adopt this technological model with their newest releases. This kind of invention allows the user to have at least some sort of control over their vehicle's performance, knowing when something may be going wrong and in need of repair. Personally, I've always felt uneasy about paying so much money for vehicle maintenance and repairs but not knowing much at all about the topic, I've always left it up to those who do it for a living, even if they've been known to make some things up here and there to make a bigger buck.
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| Photo courtesy of caradvice.com.au |
I'm unsure if you already know this since it wasn't stated in you blog, but the onStar mobile app also allows one to check other information such as how much gas they have in their cars and the tire pressure of each of their tires. I think this information is very useful, but hopefully the owner's phone never gets hacked. If this is possible, thieves won't focus on "hacking" into large objects such as cars, but can easily steal a cell phone and the pin associated with the application.
ReplyDeletesource: http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/10/07/22/onstar.mobile.apps.go.beyond.volt/
I enjoyed both your information about the new technology coming and the previous response questioning the security of such technology. I think I can reasonably assume that much time and effort goes into thinking how security can be maintained - if not guaranteed - before such devices and apps are made available. Obviously, a failure to do so exposes a company to great liability. Much has been learned as online banking became available and I wouldn't be surprised to see the same level of security when we're talking about an 80 to 100k automobile. In the case of onStar, the issue is not how to hack into it to start but how to terminate it if one steals an auto. It's easy to track. Perhaps devices directly connected to autos are safer since those autos could be tracked as easy as a cell phone. I wouldn't be surprised if a phone app NEVER stores any pin or ID number and requires the user to enter such information from memory. That would be one of the best ways, of course, to make a "connection" without any data stored in the device. There would also be other info such as SSNs or birth dates that are not stored in the device but merely transmitted with encryption to an auto's micro processor. It'll be interesting to track this technology!
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