Many car owners consider their cars to be much more than a machine that transports them from point A to point B. They look upon it as their “baby,” and today, cars are more of a lifestyle statement than just a means of transportation. That was the good news.
The great news is that motoring is all set to become more exciting, thanks to technology. You may have heard of or experienced alternative fuels, hybrid cars, automatic cars, etc., but have you ever heard of a smart watch that connects the car owner with his car?
If you haven’t, here’s the news:
Nissan’s Nismo Connects Car With Driver
Many mobile phone companies have announced plans to launch Dick Tracy-Watch-like smartwatches and users are eagerly waiting for the product. The smartwatches that are currently available in the market notify users of incoming calls and allow them to listen to music, connect to social media, and download apps.
Now, automobile major, Nissan, has jumped on this bandwagon and launched a different kind of smartwatch, Nismo. This goal of this smartwatch is to quantify the connection between the car and its driver.
Like other smartwatches, Nismo too uses Bluetooth technology. It gathers telemetry and efficiency data from the car and allows the driver to measure his track performance. For example, the watch can measure car speed and fuel consumption. It also measures the driver’s health by measuring his heart rate and then signals a warning if it shoots above normal. The great thing about it is that it can correlate data from the car and the driver – for example, it can report car speed and driver’s heart beat (90 miles per hour/109 heart beats per minute). This feature allows drivers to figure out the level of speeding that can impact their health.
Nismo also can work as a health advisor – for example, a driver who smokes or uses a wireless instrument to engage in a mobile phone conversation while driving may likely see his heart rate shooting up and stop whatever he’s doing.
Nissan is not stopping at the heart rate – it plans to add ECG (electrocardiogram), electroencephalogram, and skin temperature monitoring features to the watch.
The Nismo Hardware
Nismo is a 1-solid-piece watch that smoothly connects around the wrist. It is stylish yet robust, and can take some damage. The battery lasts for 7 days and users can charge it through a USB port.
Summing Up
People who own used Nissan cars, or
Nissans equipped with rebuilt engines, or even newer variants cannot work with the Nismo. Currently, the watch works only for Nissan’s 370Z, Juke and the forthcoming GT-R models. Nissan also has not released any information about the watch’s availability and price, and this may have left many car lovers disappointed.
The biggest howler in this product launch is that though Nissan’s handed out all the tech-y information about the Nismo, there is one minor detail they have left out – they have nowhere mentioned if Nismo can tell the time!
William L. McKee is a resident of Phoenix, AZ. He considers himself a tech buff and car enthusiast rolled into one.
