Now that connected car startups are now thick on the ground, it takes a special amount of pizzaz to stand out. Thankfully Voyo has amped up the jazz hands and is producing a small device that can truly change the way we drive.
What does this little dongle do? It can interface with your car’s computer system via the OBD-II as well as via your relay panel. By connecting these two port systems you are able to turn the car on and off at will, sense and manage fuel consumption, and even save gas by killing the engine when you are at red lights.
The CEO, Peter Yorke, showed me the system in New York and he was able to turn a standard rental car – a Chevy SUV – into a smart car just by adding his system. Because the controller can manage the engine it allows for far more flexibility than other similar systems.
“After-market connected car devices have yet to realize the full potential of automotive IOT,” said Yorke. “Current products on the market only track a small number of available vehicle parameters and at a very slow rate which significantly limits their usefulness. VOYO can collect 100x the amount of information from a much wider selection of vehicle data and process it at a dramatically faster speed that enables a powerful suite of apps.”
The team has been renting cars and reverse engineering the control codes to ensure that the system will let you control almost any vehicle on the market. You can also track all of your vehicle stats, look for it when it’s been stolen, and incapacitate it at will. It’s a pretty cool system.
The basic model costs $90 for early birds and $200 with the relay. The EcoStart feature requires two relays but basic control requires just one relay.
Companies like Voyo are about to get really interesting. I, for one, welcome our in-car management dongle overlords.