At a time when just about everything is going digital, a South African based auto-engineering firm NGS Engineering Solutions has come up with a real-time self -vehicle diagnostics, statistics and monitoring device, the SmartStick OBD2 which is set to be a game-changer in the car maintenance industry, 263Chat Business has established.
Partnering with a Zimbabwean distribution firm-Fuzzy Electronics, NGS Engineering’s latest device gives car owners the privilege to perform a full health check every time they drive, record every trip, record vehicle expenses, set maintenance reminders and generate comprehensive driving, usage and expense reports.
From the car, the device is synchronized with the car owner’s mobile phone once its application is downloaded and all updates on the car’s health can be viewed from the phone.
The SmartStick device communicates with the Engine Control Unit (ECU) for the car through a port on the car called OBD2 (OnBoard Diagnostic 2) and notifies the car owner of engine or battery faults and also provides the description of the engine fault and how to fix it.
The device can also log all trips and monitor up to 10 family member cars if they have the device installed on their cars.
This also applies to SMEs with 10 or less cars and can also be customized for big corporates.
“We call our solution – a family solution because our goal is to make sure the Father or mother of the house has peace of mind. The fact that you can monitor the health of your spouse or children car, it gives you peace of mind,” Ngoni Musabayana from NGS Engineering Solutions told 263Chat.
With more car owners falling prey to some dishonest mechanics over the exact faults on their cars which often leads to higher maintenance and repairs costs, perhaps the device comes as a life saver to many who have been previously shortchanged.
“The solution reduces maintenance cost for every car owner and it helps you in managing your car well. Self-diagnostics will help every car owner not to be tricked by some mechanics that do trial and error when repairing the cars leading to more costs. Now you can go to the mechanic with a report showing the fault description and suggested solution,” said Musabayana.
The firm also has a battery monitoring solution for both individual and corporates.
“These are economic smart battery monitoring solutions which are a must have for every car owner. Now you do not need to be technical or know how to use a meter to test the battery. You will be notified on your phone whether your car battery is charging, its charge level and reflects if the battery is due for replacement,” said Musabayana.
The device is designed to operate remotely thus it can provide the status of a car battery within a 10 meter range.
For corporates, it can be customized with 4G network such that a manager can remotely check the car health.
