Car trouble? There’s an app for that

Given all the marketing hype out there, everyone has heard about the Internet of things, even if it’s not at all clear what it is. (For an informative guide, read my primer on the Internet of things.) Well, the $100 Automatic device for the iPhone 4s and later (and soon for some Bluetooth 4.0-equipped Android smartphones) from Automatic Labs gives a good example of the Internet of things in action.

I’ve been testing this device on an iPhone 5s for a couple weeks in my 1996 Toyota Corolla; it’s now available for sale from the Apple Store. It plugs into the car’s engine computer port (on nearly every U.S. car since 1996) and uses your compatible iPhone as its central brain. When you get in the car, the device automatically connects to the iPhone via the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 radio (aka Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Low Energy), sending data about your driving patterns and engine condition to Automatic’s iPhone app. You get feedback on your driving habits, track the routes you’ve taken, and see how much money each trip has cost you.

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How does the Automatic device do all these things? That’s the Internet of things part. If all it did was communicate with your iPhone, that’d be useful but limited. But it uses your iPhone as a waystation to other resources.

If your engine reports a problem, for example, the Automatic app can check with Automatic’s database to know what the error code actually means for your specific car, providing you both an alert and an understandable explanation — much better than just seeing the check-engine light come on. It can also check your location via the iPhone’s GPS and compare that to a database of mechanics, to suggest a nearby repair shop.

The same combination of local sensor (the Automatic device reading the car computer), the smartphone (your portable brain), and the Internet (the big brain and universal data source) is what makes the Automatic an example of the Internet of things in action. It’s how the app can tell you how much money each trip costs you and its actual gas mileage, by reading the mileage and gas consumption data from the car computer and using current gas prices in your area to compute the costs on your iPhone.

Likewise, if you brake too hard, start too fast, or exceed 70mph, the Automatic knows that from the car computer and warbles to let you know — a kind way to try to change your behavior. It also indicates these issues in the iPhone app so that you can see any patterns of inefficient driving, using a scoring system meant to engage you to try harder. If you tap the specific trip where you erred, it uses GPS data to show you exactly where you went astray, so you can see where you sped and for how long, where you slammed on the brakes, and so on.

The Automatic device itself is well designed, as is its app. Installation is a breeze. If you’re obsessive about driving costs, this app gives you both the data and experience to adjust your behavior. If you tend to speed, slam on the brakes, or accelerate too much when starting, it’ll tell you that too (after all, these behaviors reduce your gas mileage).

Even better, the app lets you monitor multiple cars you own (each must have its own Automatic device), but only the ones you actually drive in with your iPhone at hand. The requirement that the iPhone be in the car for it to be tracked means you can’t use the device to spy on a spouse’s or child’s driving habits or track where they’ve gone. Right now, you can’t have two people monitor the same car from their individual iPhones, but Automatic says it’s working to allow that.

Simply put, it’s a cool gadget.

It’s clear that the company intends to make its money by selling ads to drivers, such as where to find gas or a mechanic. I hope it doesn’t do what Waze did and litter the app with annoying interruptions — it’s off-putting in any scenario and dangerous while driving. But whether or not Automatic Labs finds a way to stay in business without annoying users, its concept is intriguing and its execution strong. I bet a lot of American techies will find an Automatic in their Christmas stockings this year.

The fact that it’s also a good example of the Internet of things is just gravy.

This article, “Car trouble? There’s an app for that,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Galen Gruman’s Mobile Edge blog and follow the latest developments in mobile technology at InfoWorld.com. Follow Galen’s mobile musings on Twitter at MobileGalen. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.