Saturday, March 24, 2007

Internet connected remote control for cars

Here's an actual screenshot of a web-based car control application. Yes, you can control a car with an Internet-connected web browser now.


On CycleDog the other day, I joked about a GPS + Cellphone gizmo with a panic button that would locate and disable all GM vehicles near me if I wanted to play havoc with traffic.

It turns out a company called Inilex in Arizona bundles remote location, control and alert capabilities into a customizeable service that you can manage from their website. Inilex uses GPS and wireless data transmission to track your vehicle's location. The Edmunds Straightline blog has pointers to product photos, a video interview, and a demo. Of interest to me, though, is the possibility of hacking into the Inilex car control system.

So imagine the "create havoc" button on your bike handlebar. When you press the button, it sends your GPS coordinates via cellphone to the Evil Overlord's computer. The computer automatically hacks into Onstar, Inilex, LoJack and other competing systems, locates all vehicles within 100 yards of your location and shuts them down.

This is all fantasy, of course -- I would never illegally hack into a computer system. But Inilex does bring up interesting possibilities.

1 comment:

Ed W said...

Fritz, I already have a 'create havoc' button, though it's more a virtual one. And it's easy to use. "Gosh, honey, that dress makes your butt look almost as big as Montana!" Or how about, "My ex-wife sure was a good cook. Maybe you should call her."

I guarantee these virtual buttons will create havoc, but maybe not the kind of havoc you like.