Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

automatic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 305 posts

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#221

Post by Too »

dmmalam wrote: post #51

Does this also connect to the CAN Bus, if so will you offer a simple high level API to it. I would buy one now if it did. Background: I showed Lockitron to my dad a while back, and he wanted it for his car. ie unlock/lock from his phone, or even by just walking up, like keyless-go on the mercs. I did a bit of googleling, and it seemed like it should be pretty simple. Connect a dongle to the diagnostic port (inc CAN b…

Attempting to control process parameters in your car with undocumented features by trial and error? Highly advice against it. Who knows what can happen, you might even accidentally send accelerator pedal request. On the systems I've worked on you can absolutely not control the cruise control by externally firing CAN messages onto the wire. Sure, the engine would probably respond to them but it would also respond to the real messages being sent from the ecu in charge milliseconds later, causing very jerky response. You could also cause the cruise to activate at standstill or other non allowed conditions since those conditions aren't necessarily located in the engine ecu.

Something that looks like a valid parameter on the bus, by simple sniffing and correlation, might not be what you think it is either. It might sound strange but it's actually very common for a signal in a message to bounce through several devices before it is considered valid and is picked up by the receiver. For example the first device might output the raw sensor data almost straight from the A/D-converter, the second device applies an LP-filter on it and sends it in another message, a third ecu applies some condition on the signal and forwards it differently if those conditions are valid and finally a fourth ecu is used just as gateway to transform the signal into another can-message because the receiving device is from a third party that doesn't support the standard message format for that parameter type. And I haven't even mentioned gateway between multiple can-networks yet. Even with system documentation it can be hard to know what a signals does.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#222

Post by stcredzero »

umsm wrote: post #109
mseebach wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> unlock/lock from his phone Liability hell .

It depends on the driver and the area you're from. In front of my home, I rarely lock my car.

Depending on the jurisdiction, you could be liable for stuff that happens if someone steals your unlocked car.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#223

Post by kokey »

thejo wrote: post #62
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…

We're paranoid about not running your car's battery down. When the ignition is off, we consume less than 1 mA. By itself, the Automatic Link would take 3-4 years to drain even a cheap battery.

That's very good to hear, the reason why I didn't make talking to the obd port a regular hobby is because my wifi connector would eat the battery up in a few days.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#224

Post by msabalau »

mseebach wrote: post #89
dmmalam wrote: post #51

Does this also connect to the CAN Bus, if so will you offer a simple high level API to it. I would buy one now if it did. Background: I showed Lockitron to my dad a while back, and he wanted it for his car. ie unlock/lock from his phone, or even by just walking up, like keyless-go on the mercs. I did a bit of googleling, and it seemed like it should be pretty simple. Connect a dongle to the diagnostic port (inc CAN b…

> unlock/lock from his phone Liability hell .

Worse liability than "Automatic Calls for Help in a Crash"?

Which is a great idea, it just surprised me that they'd be willing to go there for a $70 device, even with the appropriate disclaimers.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#225

Post by raverbashing »

UnoriginalGuy wrote: post #142
raverbashing wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's better to break this down, because this myth of 'running out of battery' is really exaggerated Let's say your average battery has 40AH. That means it can provide 1A for 40h (or better, the product time(h) x current(A) = 40 for a charged battery) @ 12v If your lamps consume 24W (I'm guessing), that's 2A, it means it would go from fully charget to nothing in 20h. But of course, your battery is usually not…

I wouldn't call it a myth people have reported issues with similar port adapters, particularly bluetooth ones. If the issue doesn't apply here then great but in general people should pay attention.

I'm not saying a cheap chinese adaptor won't drain your battery, but from what's shown I hope they thought of an energy saving system

It's possible to build it to not use excess energy.

Personal anecdote: Last year I would not use my car for long stretches (between 2 and 3 weeks), as I was traveling. 2 weeks is doable, 3 weeks I'll be certain to have a dead battery on arrival.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#226

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

mikeash wrote: post #199
raverbashing wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's better to break this down, because this myth of 'running out of battery' is really exaggerated Let's say your average battery has 40AH. That means it can provide 1A for 40h (or better, the product time(h) x current(A) = 40 for a charged battery) @ 12v If your lamps consume 24W (I'm guessing), that's 2A, it means it would go from fully charget to nothing in 20h. But of course, your battery is usually not…

Car batteries don't die after sitting idle for three weeks, not in a normal car with a working battery. At 1mA of current draw, this device is definitely not a problem. But the idea that an unpowered car uses enough power to drain the battery in less than a month is clearly ridiculous.

Weather is a factor, especially for those living in harsh winter climates. The first "C" in a battery's CCA rating is "Cold." i.e., how much current the battery can provide for 30 seconds of cranking continuously at 0F when brand new. That current rating drops significantly below zero Fahrenheit - http://www.pacificpowerbatteries.com/aboutbatts/car%20batter...

In a climate where 32F may be the highest temperature seen for months, a car sitting idle for two weeks can definitely be in danger of not starting due to the battery not being able to crank the engine after being cold-soaked at -20F all night.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#227

Post by digitalmerc »

NelsonMinar wrote: post #16

What a great looking product idea! I pre-ordered; don't normally do that, but they promise not to charge until they ship.

Exactly. I wouldn't either, but they said "when they ship". Pre-ordered one for my lady friend as well.

Doesn't say on the site, but is there an expected ship date?

Ah says in the email:

> You’ll only be charged once your Automatic Link ships in May (for iPhone) and Fall (for Android).

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#228

Post by raverbashing »

mikeash wrote: post #199
raverbashing wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's better to break this down, because this myth of 'running out of battery' is really exaggerated Let's say your average battery has 40AH. That means it can provide 1A for 40h (or better, the product time(h) x current(A) = 40 for a charged battery) @ 12v If your lamps consume 24W (I'm guessing), that's 2A, it means it would go from fully charget to nothing in 20h. But of course, your battery is usually not…

Car batteries don't die after sitting idle for three weeks, not in a normal car with a working battery. At 1mA of current draw, this device is definitely not a problem. But the idea that an unpowered car uses enough power to drain the battery in less than a month is clearly ridiculous.

Well, when was the last time you left your car without powering it for a while?

If the battery is showing some age, and/or didn't go to 100%, less than a month is typical (depending on the accessories as well: alarm, stereo - some uses standby power, etc)

Post reply on HN