CONNECTED CARS

Except actually driving your car, you can do pretty much everything else from your smartphone, in the comfort of your home

- SHASHANK SINGH

Ever thought of the extent of what you could achieve from your smartphone? The answer would be a pretty long list, obviously. Now imagine all the things you can do to your car, with your mobile phone. Nowadays, almost all manufacturers market their cars as connected cars, which simply means you can now communicate with your car using an app on your smartphone. What sort of communication? Well, the list is as follows but not limited to engine start/ stop, air-conditioning control, central-locking control, security alert features, service reminders, road-side assistance and distress signalling, digital keys and key sharing, engine deactivation in case of theft, last parked location, range to empty, nearest filling/charging station, and much more, all from the comfort of your home.

Now you may ask how this is possible, and I would say that today, starting your vehicle has become just as simple as calling someone through your phone thanks to the internet. Just like your phone, cars of today are also connected to internet service, as they are also equipped with sim cards or data cards similar to the ones in our phones. Thus your smartphone can connect with your car over the internet, just like it connects with other connected devices. But calling someone over the phone is one thing, how does communicating with your vehicle start/stop its engine, or air-conditioning for that matter?