The engine light illuminates on your dashboard, and you feel a disconcerting pit sink in your stomach. Whether you whip a deluxe Rolls Royce or a jalopy from the nineties, all vehicle owners have felt car performance anxiety before.
Enter Dash, a TechStars–approved device and app designed to automatically collect data on your driving habits and your car's health to keep you and your passengers safe and save you money. Dash works similarly to other wearable devices and apps intended for human use, like Fitbit and the Nike Fuel Band. Just as these tech toys keep up with your daily activity, so Dash keeps up with your cars.
The startup is currently in the process of developing and refining its product at TechStars' New York summer program. All you need to take advantage of Dash's sweet technology is a car (well, duh) made post '96 and a smart phone.
The diagnostic reading device plugs into a car's port (typically below the steering wheel), where it captures performance stats and other data in real-time. The device then links wirelessly to the smartphone app, allowing drivers to see when they were speeding or how many times they slammed too hard on the breaks, according to PandoDaily. The device also can give info on carbon emissions and tally up running costs on gas, maintenance and insurance, based on the financial tracking app, Mint.com.
Dash also works beyond basic car checkups. The device is advanced enough to tell when an airbag has been deployed, after which the app automatically sends out a notification for a pre–programmed emergency contact. In some of Dash's beta runs, the device has even been able to pick up engine problems before the engine light even turned on.
Similar to Google's newly acquired company Waze, Dash also is taking steps to incorporate social features for the app, so drivers can swap shortcuts and give deets on their favorite road trips."We are regular everyday drivers, and we are buiding a product for regular everyday drivers," Jamyn Edis, co-founder and CEO of Dash, explained to Mashable in an interview. "This is not meant to be a nichey gear-head thing."
Even though Dash is designed for consumers, the company believes that it could have great potential for car manufacturers and insurers. "You will know when something goes wrong with your customer's car, and be able to offer them fixes and offers," Edis told Mashable. "For the user, there is a value proposition that the dealer will help them fix it."
The next move for Dash will be to secure partnerships with government municipalities and utilities based on the 300+ points of data the device collects to help monitor traffic, according to PandoDaily.
Dash Labs raised $200,000 in outside investments last year. Edis told Mashable that the company has set it sights on raising a seven figure round, and has about 50 percent already committed. The company also has FourSquare CEO Dennis Crowley as an adviser. Before Dash, Edis and co-founder Brian Langley worked at HBO together; Edis as a vice-president of research and development and Langley as an engineer, both on the HBO Go team.
Though Dash is still in beta, the device has already been tested in over 300 different car models in the U.S., Canada, France and Panama. The company is accepting sign-ups for beta, so you can join over a thousand others who are waiting to get approved for this hot new product. Dash generic units will start on the market at $10.
