A REVOLUTIONARY new electronics system derived from the world of Formula One could help millions of motorists drive more economically.
Latest technology means the previously top-secret workings of a car’s engine management system can be made available to everyone to help driving skills and save money.
The system works like a lorry’s tachograph or aeroplane’s black box. Fiat has joined forces with Microsoft to enable a pattern of the vehicle’s usage to be transferred from the car to a home computer where it can be analysed. Using software that anyone can download from the internet, the way in which the car was driven can be analysed and a tutorial shows the driver where they are going wrong.
Initially the system is available for Fiat cars using Blue&Me technology, which is the name of Fiat’s onboard entertainment and communications system, just like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Like many cars, Fiats have a USB port that enable MP3 players to be connected. It is via this USB port that the driving characteristics can be transferred to a memory stick and uploaded to any computer. This sort of telemetry has been used by racing teams such as Ferrari for years. It is being transferred to cars so that drivers can see a recording of their journey. The downloadable system is available from www.fiat.com/ecodrive where there is also a video about it.