RideSmart is a smart car connected project developed in 2012. The system consists of an embedded controller within the vehicle that communicates with the smartphone. Based on the user's input through a smartphone application, the vehicle's: engine, air conditioning, parking lights and locks can be controlled remotely. Blackberry partnered with RideSmart to showcase this project during the launch event of the Blackberry 10 platform internationally.
The RideSmart system basically consists of two parts: the software for the user interface on the phone and the custom hardware module installed within the car. The smartphone application has been developed for Blackberry OS 10, and the initial prototyping was done for Android phones. The hardware module mainly consists of a microcontroller, relays, bluetooth module and sensors embedded onto to the car to detect handbrake activation and engine status. Due to the small size of the h/w module, it can be mounted inside the glove compartment or other hidden spaces or cavities in the car. It derives it’s power from the onboard car battery. This system then has to be interfaced to the car’s wiring, for controlling it’s functions.