Autonect
Autonect polls data from the On-board diagnostics port (OBD2) of any vehicle and transmits it by Bluetooth to the driver’s app-enabled smartphone.
The smartphone app then communicates with a cloud-based Autonect dashboard customised for a vehicle dealer or breakdown organisation, and provides them with real-time alerts if the vehicle needs servicing, breaks down or has an accident.
The driver can then be contacted via phone, SMS, email or through push-alerts in the app with offers of assistance. The app also transmits location data.
Software build is currently underway, and beta testing is expected to be completed by June 2015, following which Autonect has a 500 vehicle 90-day pilot agreed with a Nissan main dealer.
Vehicle dealers and servicing agents will be able to communicate focused offers directly to a driver’s smartphone.
For example, if Autonect alerts a servicing agent that the vehicle’s brakes are wearing low, the agent can send the driver an offer to replace them at a special rate, and enable the driver to book the vehicle in at the touch of a button.
Similarly, when Autonect detects an airbag deployment or a breakdown fault, the driver could be contacted by providers offering recovery assistance.
Autonect aims to improve driver safety and convenience by connecting vehicles with their chosen repair agents or breakdown services, and we believe will also enable collection of a wide range of useful data to improve sales and servicing strategies, thereby increasing long-term customer retention and revenue.
We believe that Autonect connectivity will undoubtedly have a transformational effect on the way drivers interact with their vehicles, and on the relationship between them and their service and support providers.
Autonect is partnered with the Hub of All Things (HAT) network, a joint project between academic institutions and the commercial sector, which enables users to collect and use their personal data in a variety of useful formats. For example, HAT could automatically switch on home heating when the driver is 3 miles from home, or message a family member when the vehicle is leaving work.
We believe that the possibilities are endless, and it all starts with the Autonect connected vehicle platform.
We have appointed Enable International, a major UK-based software and app development house as our development partners.
Once software build and testing is complete in June 2015, Autonect has a 500 vehicle 90-day pilot agreed with a Nissan main dealer.
We have been appointed to the Industry Advisory Board of the Hub of All Things (HAT) project, a ground-breaking cloud platform which integrates personal data from a variety of sources and internet-enabled devices.
We are working with Funding4Innovation, Electric Intelligent Vehicles and Innovation Networks to raise grant funding for Autonect.
We are in discussions with many potential users, including Kwik Fit, Halfords Auto Centres, and Enterprise Car Rental, all of whom have expressed strong interest in Autonect.
We have undertaken hardware R&D and have selected three working prototypes currently available from commercial suppliers. These wireless dongles would transmit the raw data to the driver’s smartphone, and on to Autonect eco-system.
Autonect plans to use the funds raised through Seedrs to further develop the app, the dealer portal and to purchase an initial batch of the hardware dongles.
We intend to fund the 500-vehicle pilot agreed with a Nissan-franchised new and used car dealer, which would run for 90 days starting in June 2015, and aims to validate the functionality and commercial benefits of the platform.
Investment will also be directed into marketing the app to businesses and consumers, with the goal of securing 25,000 Autonect-enabled vehicles within six months from the end of the pilot.