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Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

automatic.com

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Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#231

Post by nmcfarl »

jonknee wrote: post #184
dsr_ wrote: post #121

The privacy policy seems to boil down to "We're not planning on selling your information to anyone, but if it leaks or someone hands us a subpoena, tough noogies." That makes me itchy, and I'm not even planning on doing anything illegal.

What information will they have that won't already be a subpoena away? It's tethered to your phone's data plan which means your phone company already has your location info

But most cell phone companies ditch location data after a point: http://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/?q=chart-how-long-your-ce...

Meaning that a subpoena from them (barring AT&T) can’t necessarily get everywhere you’ve ever been...

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#232

Post by miahi »

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…

Some cars expose a CAN bus through the diagnostic port, but reject commands like these coming from that port, probably for security and safety reasons. You have to get to the "internal" bus to be able to do this kind of hack.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#234

Post by mikeash »

raverbashing wrote: post #228
mikeash wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

A few years ago, when I was traveling for about a month. Had no trouble starting the car afterwards.

An older battery surely won't do as well, but then it'll do even less well with an extra 1W draw hooked up. No matter how you slice it, a load that will drain a car battery in good condition in 20 days is a pretty big load.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#235

Post by admiralpumpkin »

ry0ohki wrote: post #173
jessriedel wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you give an example or two of their best competitor?

I've never used any of them, but some quick Googling: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dashcommand-obd-ii-gauge-das... http://devtoaster.com/products/rev/index.html

The first link is a $50 piece of software that still requires a dongle. The suggested dongle is $99.

The next piece of software is $40 and works with three listed 3rd party dongles each over $100 (unable to find price from the one in Germany).

If these are Automatic's best competitors, they're going to clean up. They control the whole widget and they appear to have a good UI.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#237

Post by jessriedel »

frogpelt wrote: post #189
jessriedel wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea is that the company could take steps so that they never had access (either physically or cryptographically) to the data in the first place, making a subpoena useless. There are a few industries which are obligated by statute to keep certain types of data at hand in case the government wants it, but I'm sure that wouldn't apply here.

Your idea presents two problems: 1. Automatic cannot do any expansion of capabilities using customer data without first changing their policy so that they can access that data. 2. If/when Automatic changes their policy it will create a negative reaction from customers that the policy is being changed. It's a lot easier to promise protection of the data and let the customer decide whether they believe the promise or n…

OK. I wasn't making a recommendation for Automatic, I was just trying to explain to pc86 how dsr_'s preferred strategy (that Automatic keep no data) was very plausible and, in fact, is used by many companies.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#238

Post by msprague »

frogpelt wrote: post #218
thejo wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

OBD-II just standardizes the connection port, meaning that you can plug in the device, but not all cars support the same information and features. Most of them do, but I'm sure that the guys over at Automatic don't want to sell someone a product that isn't supported or tested for their vehicle.

Re: Automatic: Your Smart Driving Assistant

#239

Post by cyanbane »

sksksk wrote: post #151
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…

At my employer (a car sharing company) we do have this API (for internal use only) and it is extremely fun to use. When you realise that you can just send commands to a car and get it to do things, the possibilities you can think up are incredible

Scary thinking about the fact that if there is a billing dispute or anything to that nature, for connected cars in the near future, someone could just turn a car off at whim for a driver. I would hope there is a high regulatory wall formed in the years to come if you want to disable a person's car remotely.
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