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Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

automatic.com

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Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#211

Post by sigkill »

danielweber wrote: post #92
isalmon wrote: post #19

Very good concept overall, I like the idea A LOT. One thing that surprised me: >> Speeding doesn't save as much time as you might think, but driving 10 MPH over the speed limit reduces fuel efficiency by 12-15%. How's my fuel efficiency related to the speed limit set by local authorities?

The biggest change is air resistance. Some day when you are on a freeway without many other cars around, shift into neutral. Depending on your car model, you will lose 1-2 mph every second until you get to around 50 mph, when you will lose speed much more slowly. On a flat road it might take you a whole minute to drop the next 10 mph. (Make sure you are in the right hand land before doing stuff like this. Also be awa…

I wonder if some wing tech were possible to be used on vehicle body as an aftermarket option to increase laminar flow (or delay separation, I'm not sure, not an AE) to reduce air resistance.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#212

Post by ceejayoz »

peterwwillis wrote: post #132
contango wrote: post #21

Prediction: No one will buy this. It does not solve an actual problem. It's a toy for data geeks. How the hell much did that domain cost?

I'm with you. Pay $70 for an app that tells me how much money I spent on gas? If I cared that much about my money I wouldn't pay that much for an app when I have paper and pencil. How about I just make an app that uses GPS to check your speed and flash "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN" on quick acceleration, repetitive deceleration or anything over 65mph? Do it over a weekend, charge $5. You'll make more with lots of fish than a…

Until someone sues you for distracting them while driving.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#213

Post by fudged71 »

nlh wrote: post #99

This is a great start to what I hope will be an awesome product. One of the other commenters mentioned fleet/enterprise customers -- let me raise my hand (as one of those customers) and say how SORELY needed this sort of approach to tech is in the fleet space. I actually predict (hope?) this will take off more on the business side than the consumer side. Here's the problem: Fleet managers (that is, people who are res…

I spoke with a company recently that does mobile apps for truckers. Unfortunately the large trucks don't use the same protocols. But I can definitely see something similar being used for Taxis, Vans, city busses, shuttle busses, etc. Plenty of benefits.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#215

Post by msprague »

Alexx wrote: post #131
ck2 wrote: post #55

So it's a $10 elm327 ? http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=elm327&_sacat=0 With a Torque clone? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torq...

Only if you could call the ipod a clone of all previous mp3 players. Technology != Customer Experience.

Except torque is only for car enthusiasts, and it looks like the general population would have use for this.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#217

Post by danielweber »

sigkill wrote: post #211
danielweber wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest change is air resistance. Some day when you are on a freeway without many other cars around, shift into neutral. Depending on your car model, you will lose 1-2 mph every second until you get to around 50 mph, when you will lose speed much more slowly. On a flat road it might take you a whole minute to drop the next 10 mph. (Make sure you are in the right hand land before doing stuff like this. Also be awa…

I wonder if some wing tech were possible to be used on vehicle body as an aftermarket option to increase laminar flow (or delay separation, I'm not sure, not an AE) to reduce air resistance.

I've seen hypermilers put aeroshells (don't know the proper name) on the backs of their cars to reduce air friction. It's pretty simple to do, but it looks very trashy.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#218

Post by frogpelt »

thejo wrote: post #181
dlokshin wrote: post #177

Out of curiosity, why does it matter what Android or iPhone I have. Is the unit actually different? What happens if I get a different phone in a month?

hi dlokshin, we support the iPhone 4S and 5 because those are the only models that support Bluetooth 4.0. I'm sure we can theoretically support every Android phone out there, but as a small team, we'd rather focus on a smaller set and provide the best experience possible. Our goal is to support as many Android phones as possible over time. The Automatic Link supports both classic bluetooth and bluetooth 4.0, so it wi…

Why does it matter what type of car I have as long as it's new enough?

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#219

Post by PeterisP »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #103

Does Automatic impact my phone's battery life? ... more or less: no Next section: Does Automatic charge a monthly fee? No, all you need is the Automatic Link and a smartphone with an active data plan . From my experience that is exactly what kills 99% of smartphone batteries...

At least my smartphone built-in stats app shows that my sync-everything-everywhere habits (both mobile data and wifi) cause just 20% of my battery drain, and more than half is spent by the screen which is used for much, much shorter periods.

Sending a few bytes doesn't take much juice at all, and the phone radio is anyway communicating with the cell tower very often to "check in".

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#220

Post by woodchuck64 »

Adaptive wrote: post #194
UnoriginalGuy wrote: post #35

I've seen these before. There are several companies working on similar products (and things like HUDs you can get off of eBay which show you OBD-II information). The main problem with these (all of them!) is that the OBD II was never designed to be used like this. It will run the device 24/7 even when the car is turned off. So it will run down your battery in a similar way to leaving the cabin light on would do... No…

Drop an amp meter between the ground cable and your battery's negative terminal (after disconnecting that connection, of course), and you'll probably see and existing, full time current draw (while the vehicle is off and parked) in any modern vehicle well above what an odb dongle will use.

From this 2005? Toyota manual, 20mA average or less, up to 50mA is considered acceptable: http://home.4x4wire.com/deddleman/photos/elec_parasitic_load...
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