UPDATE: Creator Jon has shared with us his solution to the problem of getting locked out of the car when away from a WiFi hotspot…
People do amazing things with iPhones. People also do amazing things with Mazda RX8s (probably). Now the two have met in gadget bliss with the invention of the first ever iPhone controlled Mazda RX8. Creator Jonathan Oxer has created his own app to unlock the doors, open the boot and even start the engine from his iPhone. Read on for more…
Using the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection, the handset connects to a computer built into the car itself. Rather than a direct connection, however, the computer runs a webserver with a password-protected web interface designed for the handset. The iPhone then connects to the web to pull down the controls and other data.
We can see one major disadvantage with the system – the iPhone and the RX8’s computer need a web connection and there are probably plenty of places where there’s just no 3G or Wi-Fi signal. It would be somewhat embarrassing to be locked out of your own car because you can’t get a phone signal. (Jon Oxer has kindly revealed his solution to this potential problem – there’s an RFID reader mounted in the rear window, which recognises a RFID chip implanted under the skin in his arm (!) to unlock the car when there’s no signal available. Read about it here.)
However, that design decision does come with some benefits. For example – you don’t have to be right next to the car to use the functions. Think you’ve left it unlocked? No problem, check the stats from anywhere in the world
Furthermore, the custom-software provides telemetry data such as RPM, vehicle speed, coolant temperature, throttle position, etc, and will display the car’s position on Google maps, in case you somehow forget where you’ve left it.
(via HackedGadgets)
Not a hoax, this car was demonstrated live to hundreds of people at linux.conf.au in January and on display at Hobart casino. About being locked out: I have an RFID chip implanted in my left arm and a reader in the driver-side rear window so I can unlock / start it by swiping my arm. More info at http://www.geekmyride.org/wiki/index.php/Jon%27s_RX-8
@jonoxer,
Thanks for confirming it – can’t be too carefully on April 1st.
Although, an RFID chip in your arm?! That’s bloody incredible.
No problem, I understand the scepticism! I’ve had the implant for a few years now and demonstrated it at tech conferences all over the world. Here’s a story from when I did a live interview on Australia’s top-rating morning news show early last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fIMJgNTwdU