The mobile device has become a central feature of the car, as standard as GPS navigation and satellite radio. Just as MP3 input pugs have been included to accommodate this change in the way people interact with their vehicles, so too is Clickdrive hoping to become another important intermediary between mobile technology and the automobile.
Created by a car buff and former Lehman Brothers trading systems designer, Clickdrive connects cars to the cloud and gives users valuable real-time data about their vehicles.
“After experiencing issues with my own car, I was personally inspired to create a solution to the lack of data available on my car,” says Clickdrive founder Mark Sutheran. “Wifi and highspeed networks have become ubiquitous, but why aren’t our cars taking advantage of the situation?”
A 1Ghz CPU, 512 MB RAM box, Clickdrive includes an accelerometer, GPS tracker, compass and mobile wifi network. So far, the prominent app offerings include a digital dashboard, fuel-saver performance chart and blackbox function in the event of an accident or breakdown, but the software platform will be open, so new functions will constantly be included, by users and the design team.
“We have installed a number of apps on the device, but the real game-changer is that the device provides the technological infrastructure to run new or custom-made apps to improve your car’s performance,” says Sutheran.
The potential, in that sense is limitless, with theoretical applications including everything from safety to basic performance. Clickdrive is being marketed to car buffs for now, but who knows, in the future it may just be another thing people expect to use whenever they sit behind the wheel.