Monday 23rd December 2013

Remote controlled cars

Phones are making it easier to control functions away from the car. Silly idea or useful?

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You've probably seen that pic where a smartphone is surrounded by a drawer's worth of Eighties items it now does the job of - Walkman, Filofax, BBC Micro, Game & Watch etc.

Now it's got its suckers on the car, controlling some of the functions and even driving it in the wilder interpretations.

i3 app can measure efficiency...

We had a go recently in the new BMW i3 electric car, which includes a smartphone app that lets you lock and unlock the car. It felt ridiculous using it when the car comes with a perfectly good key (that works a lot faster). But we got a kick out of doing it anyway and because it works anywhere, it most definitely removes any unlock paranoia. It also lets you set charge times, for example starting when a lower rate tariff kicks in and lets you know if a window or door is open. Nissan's Carwings app for the Leaf EV does something similar.

Some reckon the phone will inevitably banish car keys to the pile of obsolete objects. Hyundai says it'll launch NFC (near-field communication) enabled cars by 2015 that'll just read the phone to unlock the door. If encryption and security is good enough, you could imagine it'd be possible to text the code to someone else to unlock the car from their phone.

James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies phone-drove his 7 Series and Toyota showed off something similar a couple of years ago - a self-driving, remote-controlled Prius that you called over like a faithful hound to your feet using your phone, then set it off on its path - from the back seat if you wanted.

...display charge level...

That OAP's dream is a while off yet, but supplier Bosch reckons it'll help its automaker customers get an app-controlled self-parking car on the market by 2015. Instead of staying in the car and folding your arms, you get out and press a button on your phone. This could be the gimmick to finally get the technology to appeal to all those self-respecting PHers who can park perfectly well, but would rather not risk the door paint getting out in a tight spot.

Probably the most interesting car-communicating phone app will be one that pumps the car's ECU for info and displays it on your phone. Mercedes is one maker working on this and the results will be properly geeky, like which of your commutes to and from work last week was the most economical and which was the least.

But do we want the phone ever-more integrated into our car lives? It's already been charged with delivering the sat-nav, music and info apps to the latest cars, particularly cheaper ones. But actually controlling the car? Lose it for example and our status instantly moves from annoyed to properly shafted.

... and even direct you to the car if required!

It's also a way for manufacturers squeeze more cash out of us. The i3's app is part of BMW's ConnectedDrive service which delivers info and advice via an embedded SIM that's free for the first three years, but costs later.

But the BMW system also proves the worth of increased remote control. We clicked a menu button on the i3 dash screen and suddenly were speaking to a real-life person wondering how she could help. She told us a nice story. Bloke and his family go to a national park in their X5, he strides up the mountain, she takes the kids biking. It starts raining, kids get fed up and mum wants back in the car. Trouble is Dad's got the keys, so he calls BMW from the top of the mountain and our helpful lady remotely opens the car.

 

[Rob_the_Sparky]

So you have an app on your phone that directs you to your car and unlocks it. Ever thought that phone theft might jump when this is introduced?!

[HaloGen8]

In principle a great idea - but there are 'issues' associated to this technology. Like the idea, but needs work!

[T1berious]

remote starting the car and warming it and putting the seats on would be cool on cold days or starting it up and putting the on aircon on hot ones. Or more usefully, if the cars been stolen (assuming the 1st thing they did wasn't disable any interfacing) disable the car (when stationary) and pass on the location to plod?.

That would be cool or a James Bond type "ignite fuel tank" option? pretty sure that would be android only

[Bradderz352]

I feel that the batteries in said mobile phones will need to be improved upon before we give it literally everything to do. How annoying would it be if you forgot to charge your phone last night (because it only last 24 hours already due to the amount of apps it has to deal with) and you cannot gain access because your phone is flat, and keys don't exist anymore?!

[rijmij99]

Bradderz352 said:

I feel that the batteries in said mobile phones will need to be improved upon before we give it literally everything to do. How annoying would it be if you forgot to charge your phone last night (because it only last 24 hours already due to the amount of apps it has to deal with) and you cannot gain access because your phone is flat, and keys don't exist anymore?!

24 hrs!!! What magic phone are you using with that long a battery life?

[Tomatogti]

T1berious said:

remote starting the car and warming it and putting the seats on would be cool on cold days or starting it up and putting the on aircon on hot ones. Or more usefully, if the cars been stolen (assuming the 1st thing they did wasn't disable any interfacing) disable the car (when stationary) and pass on the location to plod?.

That would be cool or a James Bond type "ignite fuel tank" option? pretty sure that would be android only

BMW's Connected Drive does this where the local law allows (eg in the US) - here in the UK car manufacturers aren't allowed to have a car's engine start remotely. It can activate the fan - but without the engine on it's not heated/cooled air.

[anonymous-user]

T1berious said:

That would be cool or a James Bond type "ignite fuel tank" option? pretty sure that would be android only

Thanks. No I've sprayed half-chewed sandwich all over my keyboard

Personally, anything I can check that tells me I've locked the car and closed all the windows in the airport car park while I'm in the queue at the gate is a winner!!

[ClarkyboyS]

a lot of these service feedback things can already be kept in your phone notes, or the ipetrolhead app etc.

however, im thinking unlocking/locking your car from the phone could get risky!

phone thief turns car thief!!

[mygoldfishbowl]

Bradderz352 said:

I feel that the batteries in said mobile phones will need to be improved upon before we give it literally everything to do. How annoying would it be if you forgot to charge your phone last night (because it only last 24 hours already due to the amount of apps it has to deal with) and you cannot gain access because your phone is flat, and keys don't exist anymore?!

I don't think it's the batteries as much as the operating systems themselves that are at fault. Since my last android update my battery life went down to less than a day & I'm not a big user, I don't have data, gps or anything else turned on constantly. After coming close to binning it & buying a pre-smart phone I had one last fiddle turning things off & trying to improve the battery life.

For the last few weeks & after a few "touch & go" moments it's stable & I'm getting as much as five days from one charge. As far as I can tell, & I am certainly no expert, the problems stem from google constantly trying to connect to, erm, google.

As for the article, technology for technology's sake as far as I can see.

[anonymous-user]

It sounds like a great idea. The security of the device used to access the car and the security authentication of it and the car will be crucial.

If you are just using the app to monitor the call all well and good, but if you are using the app to control the car then the security needs to be secure enough that someone cant hack.

I predict someone will introduce it in a rush, will implement poor access controls and then we can all stand back and watch the chaos that ensues.

[DUMBO100]

Most technology is introduced to baffled consumers who quickly become accustomed to the new gadget and then wonder how they lived without it. Security is a bit of an issue though we'll need to keep our phones in our pants for safety.

[mlhj83]

I have a 2011 E92 M3 that tours as much as it is tracked, and I have found the BMW ConnectedDrive to be a wonderful Infotainment system.

Whilst in Norway and the Alps, I've used it to get lists of hotels (with nav data and tel no.) within a certain budget sent to my iDrive with the help of a UK-based BMW concierge, who has a live view of my location and sat-nav route.

The ConnectedDrive and Route Planner website allow transfer and configuration of various in-car apps and custom drawing of desired navigation routes (instead of a route that the sat-nav picks based on route criteria and destination).

The ConnectedDrive App also allows live synchronisation of various vehicle parameters, and also provides various useful in-car apps like web-radio, Facebook, Twitter, news feeds, wiki local, transfer of remaining satnav route to the phone for walking to your final destination etc.

The Remote app allows location of your vehicle especially if you parked in a large field of cars. One can also remotely lock/unlock and also send navigation data direct to the car. Remote locking/unlocking also gives feedback as to whether the function has been performed successfully or failed.

Most recently introduced is BMW's M Laptimer app that gets data from vehicle's sensors to log lap times, steering angles, throttle/brake graphs, g-forces, circuit maps, rpm, fuel consumption for every bit of the circuit, gear selected and shift points on the circuit and lots more. This is great for track driving analysis to help one become better at the track.

iDrive also features on board apps that are not related to smartphone apps, they include email (gmail, hotmail etc.), country-specific vital info, weather, news and lots more.

Everything works reliably, and when it doesn't, a quick reset is all is needed.

I think BMW has nailed connectivity.

Edited by mlhj83 on Monday 23 December 14:35

[court]

I really like BMW connected drive - but would I pay £120 a year for it? It would have to have some really compelling features I can't get from my smartphone.

[Technomad]

Rob_the_Sparky said:

So you have an app on your phone that directs you to your car and unlocks it. Ever thought that phone theft might jump when this is introduced?!

Not if they've got the encryption right. However it only works within 1500m on BMWs and, after pressing the unlock, it can take 2-10 minutes for anything to happen. I have been known to not remember within 1500m where I've parked the car…

[bobberz]

Tomatogti said:

T1berious said:

remote starting the car and warming it and putting the seats on would be cool on cold days or starting it up and putting the on aircon on hot ones. Or more usefully, if the cars been stolen (assuming the 1st thing they did wasn't disable any interfacing) disable the car (when stationary) and pass on the location to plod?.

That would be cool or a James Bond type "ignite fuel tank" option? pretty sure that would be android only

BMW's Connected Drive does this where the local law allows (eg in the US) - here in the UK car manufacturers aren't allowed to have a car's engine start remotely. It can activate the fan - but without the engine on it's not heated/cooled air.

They even advertise it, showing how in a freezing cold Winter, a man/woman/family hop into their warm, defrosted car and simply drive, no need to waste time scraping the ice off your windows, freezing your butt off in the process and then needing to wait a few minutes after you start the car for the heater to start working. That's for the peasants! Personally, I love that idea.

Is it illegal in the UK due to anti-idling laws? I think you're not supposed to leave your car idling where I live, but it doesn't stop people from doing it. It's a senseless law, because you need to let you car warm up before you set off (especially in a turbocharged car with thick oil; you need to give it time for the oil to thin and have adequate circulation through the turbo, lest you weld the bearings/blow something up.) What's senseless about it is it's perfectly legal to let the car warm up while you sit in it, but it's illegal if you take that time to go into your house to make a cup of coffee or something while you wait. It's just legally-mandated time wasting.

[b0rk]

Modern fully synthetic multi-grade oils have surely removed the need for idle warming unless the temperatures are massively below freezing and the oil won't circulate properly, if you regularly see temperatures that cause oil freezing then tbh a preheater is the solution not idling.
A modern demand cooled engine will not reach ideal operating temperature for a long time when left idling. Best is to start and drive gently until operating temperature is reached.

[Mr Gear]

Article said: "...That OAP's dream is a while off..."

OAP?! If I could send the car off to go collect the mother-in-law without having to chauffeur her around personally, I'd get one in a shot!

[bobberz]

rijmij99 said:

Bradderz352 said:

I feel that the batteries in said mobile phones will need to be improved upon before we give it literally everything to do. How annoying would it be if you forgot to charge your phone last night (because it only last 24 hours already due to the amount of apps it has to deal with) and you cannot gain access because your phone is flat, and keys don't exist anymore?!

24 hrs!!! What magic phone are you using with that long a battery life?

My Samsung Focus (1st gen. Windows Phone) typically lasts over a week since I don't make/receive a lot of calls. However, use the internet and that goes down to about one hour. That said, it's two years old and due to be replaced as soon as the Nokia Lumia 1020 goes down in price (the one with the 41 megapixel camera! ) The battery used to last a lot longer, even when using the data connection. Either way, it's not a huge problem; I simply plug it in to the charger every night and it's always fully-charged. I've got a car charger for if I'm out of the house.

As far as the cellphone-as-everything concept, I don't like the idea. It's already nerve-wracking enough if you lose you phone (I've got my facebook, outlook, gmail, and yahoo accounts logged in on my phone). For me it's not a huge deal since I don't tend to lose anything, but it would be terrible for others (like a certain member of my family, who's lost multiple cell-phones, car keys, driver's license, credit card, and prescription sunglasses over the years, though through luck and human kindness has gotten a few back).

Remember, anything can be hacked! Hackers today are extremely talented and numerous, and they're not who you think. Rather than being professional criminals/mobsters/foreign espionage agents, they're often young kids trying to get their jollies. The way the younger generations have grown up with computers, most people born since 1990 can probably execute some simple hacks without much trouble. I'm probably part of the last generation that grew up in a world where not everybody had computers, though with my dad in the computer business since 1982, I was using DOS by age four and was using dial-up internet by the time I was nine or ten. Back then a cell phone was just a phone, was a luxury, and people lived just fine without having internet, music, and a camera on it!

I still remember this and it's still in the house, somewhere. It's a lot bigger than it looks in the picture and must've weighed about five pounds when the massive battery was mounted on the back!

[bobberz]

b0rk said:

Modern fully synthetic multi-grade oils have surely removed the need for idle warming unless the temperatures are massively below freezing and the oil won't circulate properly, if you regularly see temperatures that cause oil freezing then tbh a preheater is the solution not idling.
A modern demand cooled engine will not reach ideal operating temperature for a long time when left idling. Best is to start and drive gently until operating temperature is reached.

We have a MkIII Jetta VR6 modified with an aftermarket turbo kit. The shop which installed the turbo told us it has to use something like 15W-40, which is hart to find. We usually use Shell Rotella, which is advertised as a commercial diesel truck/heavy equipment oil.

For reference, my Focus uses 5W-20 and some modern hybrids use oil as thin as 0W-15!

Driving gently is better, but it's my dad's car and, with him, there's no such thing as driving gently! The car is capable of getting 30+ mpg on the highway, but he routinely barely gets above single digit mpgs. If he drove a Prius he would probably get 20 mpg!

[bobberz]

Mr Gear said:

Article said: "...That OAP's dream is a while off..."

OAP?! If I could send the car off to go collect the mother-in-law without having to chauffeur her around personally, I'd get one in a shot!

Should also appeal to the wealthy: would no longer have to employ Jeeves/Giles to drive them to the yacht club in their Phantom/Arnage/Maybach. Chauffeurs everywhere would be collecting unemployment benefits.