Vodafone enters IoT with V-Auto

By Noel Campion

Vodafone has entered the Internet of Things (IoT) in a big way with products such as the V-Auto. This device plugs straight into your car’s OBD port, a port that all cars have since 1996.

This incredible little device provides your car with the smarts and extra features in conjunction with the free V-Auto app for iOS and Android.

The V-Auto has built-in sensors, a GPS receiver and an embedded e-SIM that requires activation on the Vodafone network with a monthly fee of €2.99 and a once off cost of €80.

Installation could not be easier. When you launch the app for the first time it will ask you for the make, year and model of your car.

It will then show you a video of where to find the OBD port in your particular car. You then simply plug the V-Auto into the port and via the app, activate the e-SIM.

The Vodafone V-Auto has three incredible features - Auto SOS, Automatic Trip statistics and GPS tracking and finally, it gives you a safety score for each trip as well as an average score, based on things like your speed and acceleration. Auto SOS is a key feature for safety and worth the €2.99 a month in itself. The V-Auto has built-in G-Force sensors that can tell if you’ve been in an accident. This triggers a reaction on the Vodafone side who will, in turn, try to contact you to offer support in the event of an accident.

An automated call will be made to the emergency services if there is no response. Significantly, the Auto SOS function provides the kind of eCall capability that will be a mandatory safety feature fitted in all new cars sold in the European Union from 2018. The V-Auto is a great way of retrofitting this life-saving technology now into older cars.

My favourite feature is Find My Car. Ever parked in a big car park like Dublin airport and come back from the hols?

Those who need to claim expenses on their work journeys may find the trip measurement record a serious time saver. Each trip is automatically and accurately recorded showing journey time, distance covered and average km/h making an easy job to fill out those expense sheets.

Only you can track your car using your phone which is linked to your number. You’ll also get an alert if your car moves outside a specific location or if it just starts moving.

Available now from Vodafone.ie