What is MyCarma? The fuel economy sticker that’s completely based on you.
The MyCarma mobile application allows individuals purchasing a new car to predict fuel consumption based on their unique driving patterns, and see the dollars they could save by driving a more efficient vehicle such as a hybrid or a plug-in vehicle. With fuel prices on the rise, dependence on foreign oil and environmental problems more prevalent than ever, it is important for Americans to get into a vehicle that saves money for their family. Transferring money spent on imported oil to the local economy helps the Nation and the environment.
“Our vision is to unlock the information needed for every car owner to know the vehicle that matches their personal drive cycle, keeping money in their pockets and fuel in the pump.”
- The MyCarma Team
How it Works The MyCarma application uses the phone’s GPS to capture an owner’s personal drive cycle. The result is the “Jane Public” drive cycle, specific to that individual. That personal drive cycle is fed into predictive vehicle models of new vehicles. These predictive models have been developed by combining previously captured Open Vehicle Data with the automotive design process known as Model-Based Design; creating vehicle models (ie. 2012 Toyota Prius model) that can accurately predict fuel economy when fed a drive cycle.
The result is an estimate of the current fuel economy and the fuel economy that particular driver could expect to see on the specific vehicles; based on that driver's specific use pattern.
Using the mobile app as opposed to an OBD logger slightly reduces the accuracy of the system, but the system remains significantly more accurate than the generic sticker and is highly scalable.
The Your Mileage May Vary Problem Sticker values provide vehicle purchasers with a benchmark to compare vehicles but are not intended to be specific estimates for that individual. Consumers have begun to discount sticker values as they recognize it is not reflective of how they drive. The result is a high risk-premium being placed on fuel savings, resulting in significantly less uptake of fuel efficient technologies than simple economics would estimate.
With the MyCarma system, consumers can tailor purchase decisions to their individual driving patterns and needs. The result is a personalized estimate of what drivers can expect to save by trading in their existing vehicle for a more fuel efficient compact or hybrid. The net impact is an effective de-risking of fuel savings, increasing the uptake of higher efficiency vehicles.
Hybrid Payback Periods are Heavily Route Dependent Hybrids can offer great savings at the pump, but savings are a product of how the vehicle is driven. Many consumers are reluctant to pay the upfront premium to realize savings in the future that are unknown. By monitoring individual driving patterns the MyCarma application can identify drivers that would experience the most benefit out of a hybrid or electric vehicle.
Evaluate Vehicles on your Own Time
The MyCarma application allows potential vehicle purchasers to evaluate options before stepping foot in a dealership. The application will allow buyers to pre-screen potential vehicles and visit only the dealerships that they know have the vehicle that fits their needs.
Potential Impact The OBD version of MyCarma was recently soft-launched in dealership in Canada by CrossChasm US Inc.’s parent company, CrossChasm Technologies. Only a few months into the launch, the system is clearly demonstrating the ability to assist owners in making more fuel efficient decisions. The results are happier, more fuel efficient car owners.
Picking the right vehicle is the most important decision an owner makes on fuel efficiency - the potential impact is significant and applicable to nearly all Americans.
Creativity & Innovation: The specific innovation of this system is the use of data off an owner’s current vehicle, coupled with predictive models to generate a personalized estimate of fuel consumption. Combining the world of Open Data with a tool common in vehicle design has unlocked a new opportunity.
Use of Open Vehicle Data: The predictive models are developed using Open and Proprietary Data. New vehicles are obtained at the start of the model year. CrossChasm equips the vehicles with specialized loggers, capturing Open OBD data and proprietary signals. This data is fed into the CrossChasm model development system that then generates and validates vehicle models capable of making accurate fuel economy predictions over a wide range of drive cycles.
Plan Viability: As mentioned, this submission by CrossChasm US Inc. is an extension of the work started by CrossChasm Technologies Inc. The OBD concept is currently operational in a Canadian dealership. The hope is to extend this to the mobile platform and for CrossChasm US to engage in this growth.
Additionally, CrossChasm has already developed and published success iPhone and Android applications under the FleetCarma division (FleetCarma EV Charge Station Locator)
The CrossChasm founders and most of its team are graduates of the US DoE AVTC competitions; specifically ChallengeX, EcoCAR and EcoCAR2. As a result they have been trained by the leading experts on vehicle simulation and data capture.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
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