Trying to upgrade your car? There may soon be an app for that

Its commonplace today for our most used and technologically advanced devices to go through a number of upgrades and updates over the courses of their lives, such as cell phones and computers. Often these changes are made remotely, eliminating the need to see service technicians for many issues, or have the hardware changed.

Such may be the future of automobiles as well. The industry is moving towards more remote control functionality with mobile apps for systems like OnStar and Mbrace, but we’re talking about an entirely new realm of remote functionality. Cisco, for instance, has an experimental dashboard in the works, which is a giant touch-screen with movable widgets, control panels, and the like, all of which could be updated or replaced via software enhancement.

“The car is becoming the most sophisticated piece of computer equipment you own,” said Dave Evans, Cisco’s chief futurist. Adopting a new perspective of what’s parked in your garage will be required: that car will no longer be simply a mode of transportation, but rather a node on the network, he said.

The possibilities are endless and limited only by the technology available at any given time. Its quite possible that we are not too far away from a time when many automotive repairs will be done by a tech overseas via remote access, or at least diagnosed in such a manner.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News