Lynn Walford

AT&T and many programmers converged in Las Vegas for a hackathon to program new apps for cars and beyond in only two days. The first place winner lets the driver ignore wireless calls while people calling are alerted to where the driver is. AT&T has its own automotive research facility and is heavily promoting new apps for its platforms and phone. AT&T gathered many technologies together for a total of $100,000 in prizes. Teams worked together to complete the apps and played in a Nerf battle in the middle of the night.

 

Another big automotive developer programs at Super Mobility week was the Ford App Challenge. Many of the winning apps work with the Mojio OBDII device that uses an open source system. There is one app that will actually control the car if the parent does not return when warned that a child is left in the child seat. Another app creates a caravan of Volvos where only the first car has to do the real driving.

Here are the automotive connected car app winners, finalists and one home app that prevents carbon monoxide poisoning from cars running in garages.

Geotrack Ringback the first place winner lets people calling the driver know where the driver is by using information from travel plans on Windows Phone, tablet, or PC. An audio recording that is uploaded and saved as the drivers ringback tone When someone calls, they immediately hear the current location and time to the next destination avoiding usage fees and saving time without distracting the driver. They can also follow the trip on their Windows device.

Proximity Alert came in 2nd for the cars and was the winner from Women in Tech Accelerator. Often delivery companies give the customer a four-hour time frame when a product will be delivered. When a product is being delivered the product, vehicle and customer are associated. When the vehicle with the product approaches the customer’s home, they are notified of its arrival then the customer won’t have to wait for the furniture or fridge to be delivered. The app is available for Android and it works with Mojio from the drivers

RideSafe– is the third place winner for cars. They call it an emergency alert sidekick for collision prevention, on the road and off. It also serves as your personal heart rate monitor for vitals. RideSafe detects proximity of other vehicles near yours including a bicycle.

Car Bon is was first place for the Home Challenge and prevents carbon monoxide poisoning in garages. Cars in enclosed spaces can generate high levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO). The app adds a sensor to a car that detects CO levels. When it detects dangerous levels, it shuts off the car engine and opens the garage door.

Caravan lets Volvos join a wagon train following the first driver through connected car tech. A Volvo owner declares themselves a driver, and other known Volvo owners navigate to the driver and sync to the driver’s car using Volvo’s automated driver technology and this application. The cars stay together in route following the navigation of the lead car for the remainder of the trip. Future enhancements include car-to-car intercom (to ask for stops), shared music playlists, and possibly even commuter caravans to reduce commuter traffic.

RumbleStrip completely disables the teen’s phone – no texts, Snapchats or Instagram comments to distract them. “RumbleStrip” also provides audio cues to the teen in response to common poor driving behaviors. After each drive, the teen receives a drive score. Android and Mojio.

Otto – Otto, turns your car into a buddy: one that looks out for you, maintains its own health, and has a quirky personality of its own. When your car comes alive, driving is more enjoyable, safer, and hassle free. Windows Phone

Trip Narrator – Is social narration for places while driving by. Voices tell about interesting things around. Drivers can also leave narrations for the next people who drive by. It is controlled from the dashboard with connected car integration. Trip Narrator claims to be safer because it keeps the driver engaged and awake without requiring, eyes off the road. Android & OpenCar

Connected Baby Child Seat has child presence sensor, temperature sensor, and connection to the car and to the cloud.If the child is inside the car and the temperature goes up, the controller will send an alert to the driver’s phone and will  send text and call driver gives driver remote access to the car using the Ericsson APIs (turn on hazard lights, turn on engine). If there is no response, the controller will control the car itself. Sensors are embedded in a car seat for this solution. When the child sits in the chair, temperature is measured.

MyCar’sOn? For Parents-automated alerts, the aggregated sensor data from the OBD-II car module  is seamlessly relayed to the parent when the car/home trips customizable triggers a Watch/Phones/Screens for potential followup action and/or peace of mind. If your car is suddenly turned on, the parent is notified.

Car Watcher informs the owner when the car and old phone are stolen at the same time. Leave an old device in the car and it will send a message to your other phone when something unusual happens like your car is stolen, gets run into, or a baby starts crying inside.

Pick up and Go is a smart authentication system where a wearable and app must be present before the car can be engaged. An app for parents of new drivers it apparently works only in Volvo.

Winners won monetary awards that ranged from $4,000 to $10,000, some winners received multiple awards.