KPIT Cummins Blog

What happens when you turn things around? ‘App’ explains a day in the life using Reverse Mirror Link technology.

Courtesy: William Hook

Welcome back. You and I are getting along so well. Allow me to continue our chat series by telling you a bit about Reverse Mirror Linking.

Remember Mirror Linking? I spoke about it last time. That was all about using a car’s head unit to control other compatible devices, like smart phones. Reverse mirror linking is as simple as the first thought that popped up in your mind – it’s managing the car-controls using a smart phone. See - easy! We’re thinking alike now!

Want to know how this reversal works? Let’s look at another day in my life…

One of my owners goes by the name of Mr. Potter. He has a smart phone which serves as a dashboard for his entire fleet. That fleet comprises of 250 cars, each running a hundred miles a day. And, just like Mirror Link, a Reverse Mirror Link also depends on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to function. So, when car number 187 is running with a low tire pressure, not only does the driver see it on his screen, but there’s also an instant-alert on the fleet owner, Mr. Potter's smartphone. His customized business app reports on the health of the entire fleet in real-time!

Here are few of my daily tasks. Car number 133 is used to over-speeding - one of the reasons why Mr. Potter is using this app. Car number 145 loves hitchhikers and gives them a lift whenever he is free – another way I can help out, by letting Mr. Potter know. Between you and me, car number 59 is unbelievable - too many break downs every month leading to massive maintenance costs. But it’s okay, because now Mr. Potter has round the clock access to the detailed functioning of his entire fleet.

Do you like a little gossip over lunch? Well, this is a kind of techno-gossip – I keep an eye out and let my friend know exactly what’s happening. Between us, that’s as fun as it sounds.
Still, even with this side of gossip I really am a mature and caring application. I report a lot of vehicle statistics too – straight to Mr. Potter’s smartphone. Really, I’m a part of the car, checking that vehicle’s health and pulse.

Let’s talk about the level of seat height that I can report. No, let’s talk about the parking-assistant system. What about the tire pressure and the lane departure monitoring system? Whatever the concern, my friend sees it all on his smartphone. And he can control a few things from there too, like adjusting the seat height for a new driver, or resetting the audio and video controls.

Remember my little friend Susie, who loves cartoons? And her mother, that social butterfly Mrs. Brown? What about sentimental Mr. Brown, who loves photos and videos of his family?
This Reverse Mirror Linking can work for them too.

With Mr. Brown, I report on vehicle battery health, oil-status, and speed-limit settings (based on traffic conditions). I even support a driver drowsiness indicator. I’ve got to look out for Mr. Brown; he really does work too hard.

Just today, Mrs. Brown was watching a video using DLNA (remember when I told you about that?). Anyway, she got bored, and accessed the DVD drive (Seinfeld Season 8) from Mr. Brown’s laptop - impressive when you consider that the laptop was at his office. That’s me using Mirror Link.

Then, Mrs. Brown reclined her seat via her smart phone using Reverse Mirror Link! I really can do it all. Remember that Mrs. Brown is a little lazy. But I’m there for her. The family is planning to go on a long road trip soon, so she decided on an overall car-checkup.

Well, she didn’t need to head to the garage – thanks to me her mechanic could check the car’s health on his smart phone. No need to step away from that comfy reclined seat and her TV show!

Do you like how DLNA, Mirror Link and Reverse Mirror Link can work together? I’m a bit of multi-tasker.
You haven’t heard it all though – want to know about location-based services? Until next time…
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**This blog series is written by Johnson John along with technical inputs by Manish Narang from KPIT Cummins.**