Tag: auto

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Automotive Displays

Hudly HUD gives drivers a heads-up, even in bright daylight

Heads-up displays (HUDs) have become increasingly popular devices because they allow drivers to access valuable information and data without turning their eyes away from the road.

Hudly is a heads-up display that uses a mounted projector to access notifications, navigation and vehicle information including driving speed and gas levels. It projects the user’s smartphone content on the windshield, in his or her line of sight, and provides the ability to access favorite Android or iOS apps. Hudly works in any car that has either an On-board diagnostics (OBD)-II port or cigarette lighter adapter. The powerful projector is capable of 14,000 nits, allowing it to be viewable in even bright daylight, according to its makers. Hudly ships in January at future pricing of $299. But Indiegogo backers have been able to order one for a pledge starting at $199 for early birds. Its makers hope to raise $50,000 by Oct. 28.

The main challenge facing Hudly is that there are so many similar products, including the similar-sounding Hudway Glass. Features that might give Hudly an edge over at least certain rival devices is its optical glass combiner that its makers say makes the device’s image crisp. The special coating and curved lens improves optics and displays a virtual image size of 10.8 inches that appears as if it it’s 7 feet ahead of the driver. A potential negative is that Hudly is only compatible with a limited number of smartphones: iPhone 4+ and higher or Android OS 4.2 and higher.

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Automotive Connected Objects

YAB Bluetooth dongle helps find your car in a crowded parking lot

Two of the most frustrating parts of parking a car are not getting back to it before a parking meter has expired and not being able to remember where the vehicle was parked. The latter is especially the case when it’s a huge, crowded parking lot.

YAB is a small USB dongle that reminds users when their parking meters are going to expire and keeps track of where they’ve parked their cars. It automatically saves the car’s location on the user’s Android smartphone or iPhone when the engine shuts off. YAB communicates using Bluetooth Low Energy. YAB ships in December. Future pricing isn’t provided. But Indiegogo backers can order one for a $29 pledge. Its makers reached their targeted funding of $11,916 July 30.

This is a device that may appeal to any consumer who has ever received a parking ticket because they didn’t get back to their car before the meter expired, or who has been unable to find their car in a crowded lot late at night after seeing a movie or concert.

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Automotive Connected Objects

FenSens sensor protects your fender

Many accidents occur when parking a vehicle, often because it is hard to see exactly how much space one has when backing up into a spot. Parking sensors significantly cut down on such accidents, but the vast majority of cars don’t have them and they can be too costly for many consumers to afford.

patent-claimedFenSens is an affordable wireless, connected and sensor-based parking assistance system that works in conjunction with an app for Android and iOS mobile devices. The patent-pending device gets attached to a vehicle’s front or rear license plate frame and is easy to install in less than five minutes. FenSens enables uses to see (through a visual display), hear (through beeps), and feel (via vibration) any near-by objects in a driver’s blind spots from the convenience of a mobile phone screen. An alarm buzzer sounds if FenSens is tampered with and the device will allow users to register it with specific phones, making it useless for unverified mobile devices.

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Automotive Connected Objects

TrapTap keeps you updated on speed traps while keeping your eye on the road

Speed traps have long been the bane of drivers’ existence, especially when traveling on unfamiliar roads while on vacation or on business. More recently, red light cameras and school zones with cameras that record speeding have only made driving even more frustrating for some people.

TrapTap is a small, disc-shaped dashboard-mounted device that alerts drivers of speed traps, red light cameras and school zones to decrease the chances of getting fined. The device uses Bluetooth Low-energy (BLE) to communicate with Android and iOS smartphones via a free app and GPS mapping software on the phone.

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Automotive Connected Objects Imaging

Fenderhawk keeps an eye out for fender benders

Cars are all too often banged and scratched by other cars even when they are parked. It would be nice for drivers to know when such accidents happen –- and how they happened — when they’re not around.

patent-claimedFenderhawk does exactly that. It’s a smart license plate frame for the front and rear of a vehicle that features a full HD camera with a wide-angle lens, as well as a built-in accelerometer and flash storage. Fenderhawk is controlled via an app on Android and iOS mobile devices. It assists users while parking a car and continues recording video after leaving the vehicle.

If there is a collision, Fenderhawk sends the user video footage recorded on it immediately, according to its Kickstarter campaign. Fenderhawk ships in October at $199.99. Its makers hope to raise $450,000 by Dec. 24.

The device may certainly appeal to some drivers, but its functionality seems somewhat limited when compared to driving assistance devices like CarVi. Avoiding accidents while driving, after all, seems much more important than guarding against fender benders while parked and there’s nobody in the car.

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Automotive Connected Objects

GoFar smart driving device keeps you in the fuel efficiency zone

Drivers typically spend thousands of dollars on fuel for their cars each year. And much of that money is wasted because of the amount of time spent in traffic and inefficient driving styles that don’t take into account each vehicle’s unique engine.

patent-claimedGoFar is a connected onboard diagnostics (OBD) device that can be easily installed by attaching a dongle to a vehicle’s computer using the car’s OBD-II port. The dongle gets attached to the device’s base unit — a small sleek enclosure of LED lights called the Ray — which is placed on the dashboard. When driving efficiently, the base unit glows blue, and, when not driving inefficiently, it glows red. The device then gets paired with an iOS (and later Android) app, which is used to keep track of fuel used, dollars spent on it, and other key driving data. The device cost $149 and will ship in November. Its maker set a Kickstarter goal of receiving $50,000 by June 2.

The device should appeal to a wide variety of consumers, including anybody who uses their car every day and environment-conscious people who want to reduce the size of their carbon footprints. The device faces competition from several OBD-II devices, including Automatic and Fuel Book, but offers enough unique features for it to stand out, including the stylish and useful design of the base unit.

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Automotive Connected Objects

Loxet locks up the car based on your proximity to it

When drivers mistakenly think they’ve locked their car, or perhaps forget about doing so altogether, the result can be costly. While having one’s car towed can be frustrating, having it stolen is an entirely different and more aggravating experience.

Because preventing a car from being stolen is much easier than recovering a stolen car, the Loxet is a device worth checking out. Loxet is a smartphone-controlled proximity lock and anti-theft device for cars that should help drivers breath a bit more easily. Loxet works with Android 4.3+ smartphones and iPhones equipped with Bluetooth 4.0. Once installed, the device automatically unlocks a car as its owner approaches and locks the door right as the owner begins leaving the vicinity. The device prevents anybody from driving the car who isn’t either a) the owner or b) an individual who has been granted access via a setting on the accompanying app. Loxet costs $69 and is scheduled to ship in August. Its maker is looking to raise $25,000 by May 15.

Loxet certainly has potential. One potential barrier towards widespread adoption, however, is the setup process. While the device itself can be mounted in any car equipped with central locking, it will take a mechanic 45-90 minutes to install it, this according to the company’s Kickstarter campaign. Loxet can also be installed by the purchaser via an instruction manual, but if it takes more than an hour for a mechanic to install it, it’s likely too complicated for the average consumer to set up in the first place. Turning to a mechanic will, of course, add some cost to the device.

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Automotive Connected Objects

CANBus Triple opens a dialogue between car and driver

There’s something inherently frustrating about the “check engine” light on cars. Inside of each modern car is a computer that monitors all of the giant machines systems running in tandem, and if something goes wrong, all the driver gets to see is a little orange light letting them know that something, anything, could be wrong.

CANBus Triple is an Arduino-based device that can tap into the communication that the car’s computer sends and receives and relay that information to the driver. Whether using a custom-made gauge, a laptop, or bypassing the wires that lead to the digital dashboard display, CANBus can monitor a number of different factors like air-fuel ration and passenger weight and relay that information to the driver easily and in real-time.

For the casual driver, this may sound like a godsend, but CANBus Triple isn’t exactly the most user-friendly device. Nor is it going to be an adequate solution no matter how much Top Gear one watches. CANBus Triple is for car hackers, the kind of auto enthusiasts that know how to get every last drop of power and performance from their vehicle. Created by Michigan-based engineer Derek Kuschel, CANBus Triple has been beta tested by the car hacking community and with $18,000 worth of support, is ready for open sale. The device costs $75 and ships out in November 2014.

The CANBus Triple is an auto-lover’s dream, a way to feel a closer sense of connection with one’s vehicle and a way to truly speak the car’s language. It may have a steep learning curve and a bit of an entry barrier, but for those that know they want this device, they’ve wanted something that can do this for a long time. The Arduino architecture only makes it better by making new features possible all the time.