GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

We learned previously that GM was working to produce mobile phone applications unique to the Chevy Volt.   GM has now just unveiled the details of those apps at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Los Vegas and has made demonstration versions available to the public for download.

There will be apps for the iPhone, the Blackberry and, the Droid. There will also be a web-browser interface.

The apps will integrate into the Volt’s OnStar system enabling both groundbreaking vehicle remote control operations as well as information retreival.

The apps will permit the following real-time remote operations:
1. Display the car’s charging status and schedule charging. There is also an immediate ”charge now” override option
2. Display of the car’ state of charge, as well as electric and total ranges
3. Allow the driver to program grid-friendly charging times, so as to charge only when rates are low
4. Give the driver text or email notifications if the car wasn’t plugged in
5. Let the driver remotely precondition the vehicle’s cabin temperature using grid electricity when plugged in, operates both heating and air conditioning
6. Notify the driver if charging is for some reason interrupted, and when its fully charged
7. Display the car’s historic fuel economy performance data in mpg, electric only miles, and odometer reading

“The Chevrolet Volt ushers in a new era of automotive technology and calls for a new level of connectivity and control,” said Walt Dorfstatter, president, OnStar. “Nearly 6 million vehicles on the road today use OnStar to stay connected, and our new smartphone app will make that even easier for Volt drivers.”

The capability of controlling OnStar functions via the mobile applications leads to other groundbreaking opportunities for the vehicle. The doors can be locked and unlocked remotely, and the lights flashed and horn blown for vehicle localization in a large parking area.

Volt owners can also opt-in for monthly Volt diagnostics reports which will also be archived on the Volt owners unique website.

Demonstration versions of the apps for Blackberry and Droid can be downloaded here: OnStarMobileDemo.com

The iPhone app is available on the iTunes store.

Two words: freakin’ awesome!

(GM Press Release [pdf])

Gallery:

OnStar is General Motors’ cellular and GPS-based system for monitoring vehicles.

It currently provides real time assistance, directions, theft prevention and other features to 5.6 million drivers who pay from $199 to $299 per year for the service.

Its no secret that GM believes the Chevy Volt could gain significant value-added utility from having access to OnStar. In fact, Volt executive Tony Posawatz says the possibilities for this relationship are “mind-boggling.”

GM has yet to confirm or finalize all the OnStar-mediated features the Volt will offer, but have just shown off their new testing facility called the OnStar EV Lab.

Currently the lab is using OnStar to monitor 19 of the Chevy Volt integration prototypes.

Engineers are collecting all sorts of data from these cars each of which have 20 different independent modules that are capable of transmitting back status updates to the system.

The data includes performance and diagnostic information and relays such things as battery state of charge, temperatures, and thermal management operation.  Though the primary focus for now is real-time observation of battery health and function, GM is using the lab to develop the final features for the car once it reaches production.

Posawatz notes that OnStar could be used to communicate with the utility companies. Using this method, the cars could actually charge slowly or not at all when rates or demand is high, and then more rapidly when rates are lower, reducing the drivers expense.

A more simplified approach would be to simply let the driver manually program in those parameters in the same way one programs an automated household thermostat.

“The car will have to talk to the grid and be able to pull very sensitive (utility) data,” Posawatz told CNET. “Electric vehicle customers want to manage their energy–they’re very into data. OnStar is an enabling tool for us.”  GM is currently working with EPRI to collect some of this data nationwide.

Posawatz also cautions that the ability of the car to communicate with local utilities will limit the pace of the car’s rollout.

“It certainly won’t be a nation-wide roll-out (at first),” he said.  The whole nation might not see these cars until sometime in 2011.

Another potential use for OnStar will be in the other direction allowing for example firmware upgrades to the car.

And for those who might ask, Tony Posawatz has confirmed to GM-Volt.com, “OnStar will be standard with VOLT.”

Back in late 2008 we heard then GM executive Bob Kruse say that “OnStar gives us the opportunity to know more about the environment the driver is driving in,” implying that terrain could be taken into account to show the driver the most energy-efficient route home.

If it was clear that a driver was returning home, OnStar could also shut off the ICE to let the driver arrive “as close to zero as practical or possible,” minimizing the use of petroleum.

In response to that post, readers generated 180 responses, some of which I’ve been told by reliable sources were actually integrated into the car by the Volt team.

Any more ideas?

Source (CNET) and (Autoblog)