A new iPhone app will track your driving and tell you if you're a candidate for a battery car.
With all of the advanced hybrid, plug-in hybrid, extended-range electric and electric vehicles, there should be something to help buyers decide which vehicle is right for them. Now there is.
Virtual Vehicle Co., VEVCo. for short, a startup company that grew out of a project at the University of California Berkeley, has developed a smartphone app that can monitor their driving habits to see if one of the many forms of electric vehicles coming to market might work for them.
The app, called Virtual Test Drive, tracks the way you drive including distances driven, how quickly you accelerate, as well as terrain. Information is sent securely to VEVCo.’s servers, where it automatically creates a driver profile. That profile can help drivers learn to drive more efficiently and decide whether they should buy a pure electric vehicle, extended-range electric or a high-efficiency gasoline vehicle.
VEVCo. says the data it collects will have other uses, as well. Analysts will aggregate the data to show city planners where to build vehicle charging stations.
But the information will also be used for location-based advertising and other marketing. It could also help motorists change their driving habits, reduce fuel usage, improve tollway operations and reduce emissions.
Of course, privacy is a major concern. VEVCo. says it will not use specific information about users. Instead aggregated information will help analysts create maps showing usage patterns.
Virtual Vehicle Co., evolved out of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab at UC-Berkeley. It was started by Laura Schewel, a National Science Foundation fellow at the school. Schewel also worked on plug-in vehicle technology at the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
She partnered with Gopal Vaswani, a former UC Berkeley graduate student and senior interaction designer at Rediff.com in Mumbai, India, and Daniel M. Kammen, professor of energy at UC Berkeley and director of the lab where VEVCo. started. VEVCo. hopes to add more employees soon.
Currently, the app is in beta testing for iPhone. To take part, e-mail beta@vevdrive.com. A commercial version of the app is expected in November.
The app recently was named grand prize winner of the University of California Big Ideas Competition, winner of the Dow sustainable Student Innovation Prize and is currently a semi-finalist for the Clean Tech Open.
VEVCo. is just the latest in a string of smartphone apps released for use in cars. Here are a few of the others:
• This fall, General Motors’ will release an app that works with OnStar to turn a smartphone into a virtual key fob.
• The company had previously announced an app to help owners of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt keep track of their vehicle’s charging status.
• Chrysler recently launched an app which provides information on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, allows them to buy parts and accessories and helps them connect with other owners. Eventually, the app will be made available for other vehicles.
• Mercedes-Benz Financial has an app that allows customers to view their account and pay their bill.