Digital Literacy Project» iPhone

iPhone Displaying Automotive Performance Info

Grant Swaim — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:15:39 +0000

Brian from Palmer Performance has ported his automotive OBD-II software package to an Apple iPhone. Check out this incredible integration.

iPhone, Hughes Telematics and Cars

Grant Swaim — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:31:29 +0000

Looks like everybody wants to get into the phone-car convergence game including Hughes Telematics an OEM technology supplier to Chrysler and Mercedes. By 2010, Hughes Telematics will debut its next-generation technology, which would allow drivers to install software in their cars, just as iPhones let users download applications to their handsets.

Some of the expected features are:

An application that could track your peregrinations and estimate your total carbon emissions.
Remotely starting a car
Resetting its alarm with an iPhone
Unlocking the doors with an iPhone (commands could be sent to the car over the Internet)
Cars equipped with blind-spot-detection video cameras could be programmed to take a picture of anyone near the car during a break-in and then e-mail it directly to a cellphone or computer.

Here is an article on this at the New York Times

First iPhone Controlled Car

Grant Swaim — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:35:07 +0000

Rinspeed's iChange

iPhone Integration

A recent CarTech Podcast included information about a new project at Rinspeed that really starts to push the technology boundaries. While the folks at Rinspeed are know for their innovation, they really pulled out all the stops for this new concept car called, iChange

While the car does all kinds of interesting things, such as changing its’ shape based on the number of passengers, the part that caught my attention was the integration of the Apple iPhone with the car.

An iPhone is docked into the dashboard and becomes part of the car’s control and display system. You actually start the phone by pushing a start button on the iPhone. After the car is running, the iPhone is then used to display information about the car. Being able to take your car’s main control system with you and put it in your pocket definitely takes car security to a new level!

This car is complex and there is no way this post can cover it, so I have included several resources for those that want to see what lots of money and out-of-the-box thinking can produce.

Clip from CNET’s CarTech Podcast

Download audio file (rinspeed_iphone_car.mp3)

Rinspeed Press Release

Link to a Rinspeed Video on iChange

An iPhone Key Fob?

Grant Swaim — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:40:35 +0000

Looks like the folks at Dephi have been come up with the ultimate key fob, an iPhone! While it is in the experimental stage, they can crank the car, perform some bi-directional control and display basic diagnostic information on the phone.

This is all done through a web application. Check out the video.

OBD-II Data On Your iPhone!

Grant Swaim — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:37:37 +0000

Want to view and record all your OBD-II data stream on your iPhone… no problem. A new iPhone application from Devtoaster called Rev will do just that. The application works on the iPhone and iPod Touch and is available from the iTunes App store for $49.

The expensive part is the hardware device that transmits the OBD-II stream wirelessly. The device plugs into the OBD-II data link connector and broadcasts the information to the iPhone using the industry standard 802.11 Wi-Fi standard.

Rev can monitor, record, and even graph all available OBD-II information in real-time. In addition to OBD-II, Rev uses the iPhone’s built-in technology to provide interesting metrics about your vehicle. These built-in metrics, available without the aid of additional hardware, include:

Lateral and Forward Acceleration: Graph your cornering, braking and acceleration G-forces.
GPS Track: Visual track displays your location and acceleration data – see how you are braking and accelerating around corners.

Rev can also perform the standard OBD-II scan tool functions such as checking and clearing stored DTCs.

For more information visit the Devtoaster site at: http://devtoaster.com and/or watch the video: