Virtual Mechanic

CIO, November, 2005 by C.G. Lynch

A new service from General Motors' OnStar subsidiary that performs remote diagnostics on vehicles and sends the owners reports once a month could eventually make it easier for car companies to use this data to prevent manufacturing defects.

The diagnostic tests are enabled through wireless communication with a car's computer system. When the car is in operation, data about the performance of the vehicle's critical parts and processes, including air bags, antilock brakes and the engine, is transmitted from the car's main bus to an onboard computer that sends the information to OnStar. OnStar then processes the information and sends an e-mail to the vehicle owner, who can use it to plan maintenance and repairs.

The service comes with an OnStar subscription and is...

Read the full article with a Free Trial at MyWire.

Premium Content Partnership | MyWire provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.