Skip to main content

Make your old ride smarter with the VOYO connected car device

In the car world, it turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks.

San Francisco-based firm Voyomotive has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its new VOYO connected car device. Using the OBDII port on cars of vintage 1996 and newer, the small plug allows owners of older vehicles to enjoy a variety of modern tech features like fuel-saving Start/Stop, advanced diagnostics for engine codes, and vehicle immobilization.

Through the Voyomotive Cloud and companion phone applications, users can also lock and unlock their doors automatically just by having their phone on them, track vehicles and traffic in the network a la Waze, and log individual trips to analyze mileage, driving time, gas used, and even CO2 produced. The product’s sleek look was provided by global design and strategy firm frog.

“If a consumer wanted to add all of the functionalities provided by the VOYO to their car individually on their own, it would cost well over $2,000,” said Peter Yorke, CEO of Voyomotive. “The VOYO provides all of these functionalities at approximately one-tenth of the cost, and will continue to expand on these capabilities.”

VOYO’s Start/Stop feature — called EcoStart — is definitely one of the highlights of the device, as it allows the driver to turn off their engine at a stop simply by adding additional pressure to the brake pedal. When they wish to set off again, just relax the brake and the vehicle will start by itself, all while staying in drive. VOYO also crowd-sources stoplight information through the companion app, so motorists will know exactly how much wait time they have left. However, EcoStart, as well as some other features, requires the purchase of additional relays.

The VOYO controller will initially go on sale for $100, with extra relays available for $50 each. If its goals are met, Voyomotive will ship the first 2,000 units out by the end of 2015, with a full U.S. product launch planned for the first quarter of 2016.

According to the company, setting up VOYO takes just two minutes.

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
Your next car could have TiVo built-in
Powered by TiVo platform interface.

TiVo, the company that defined modern TV watching in the era before on-demand streaming services, has announced a partnership with BMW that will see the automaker add TiVo's video media platform to its vehicles. The addition of the Powered by TiVo platform will happen as an over-the-air update later in 2023 to BMW's 5-Series vehicles and then slowly roll out to some of its other models.

The TiVo platform will include linear and on-demand streaming services with news, movies, and access to media libraries. The announcement comes just days after Google used its annual I/O event to debut its plans to add YouTube video streaming to Android Auto and Android Automotive car platforms. BMW also supports Android Auto in many of its vehicles but the company didn't immediately describe how Android Auto and Powered by TiVo would coexist in the same interface.

Read more
You’ll soon be able to watch YouTube videos in your Android Automotive car
Android Auto in a car.

Google is making a bigger play for the in-car infotainment system. At Google I/O 2023, the company took the wraps off of a series of improvements to both Android Auto and Android Automotive, allowing those who want Google-based services in their car to get more features and better account integration.

As a reminder, the two systems may have a similar (almost identical?) name, but are actually quite different. Android Auto essentially just projects content from your phone, whether through a wireless or wired connection. It's Google's answer to Apple's CarPlay, and doesn't work without your phone. Android Automotive, however, is a version of Android that runs in the car itself, as the car's main infotainment system. It works whether you have a connected phone or not. Collectively, Google refers to the systems as Android for Cars -- yes, yet another name.

Read more
Your old iPhone may not get iOS 17 this year, and that’s good
Apple iPhone X Review

With Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference coming on June 5, we’re expecting a lot of cool things to be announced during the keynote. This could finally be the time that Apple unveils its mixed reality headset, and — of course — we’ll be getting our usual slate of software updates for existing products. That includes iOS 17, which will no doubt ship with the iPhone 15 later this year.

But one rumor going around recently is that iOS 17 could be dropping support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. iPadOS 17 may also be leaving the first generation 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros, as well as the fifth-generation iPad, in the dust. Though many people who are using these devices seem to be outraged at the possibility of not getting iOS 17 on their older iPhones, I think it’s the right decision. Here’s why.
You already got over 5 years of software upgrades

Read more