A Fitbit to monitor your car’s health

For many of us, the inner workings of our car is unfathomable and we have to rely on a mechanic to tell us how healthy or not our car is. We have to trust them to give us an accurate and honest assessment of our cars' health. There are already many wearable devices that monitor personal health, but what about one that will monitor the health of cars?

A team from Thailand has applied the wearable health bracelet concept to cars and developed a dongle that plugs into the On Board Diagnostics Port (OBD-II - all cars since 1996 have one) so you can track your car’s health.

The little white device, which looks more than a little Apple inspired, plugs into the OBD-II port and pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth to let you know about any problems before they become serious, and thus allows you to be more informed when you visit your friendly mechanic.

Above and beyond giving you peace of mind as you keep on top of your vehicle's health and avoid ‘too-late’ visits to the mechanic, the Drivebot is also designed to help save on fuel costs and time on the road by finding the best routes and offering tips to improve your driving habits.

The Drivebot is slated to be launched in February 2015, initially in just Apple IOS compatible phones with an Android version coming out soon after, at a price of US$119. However, you can get one earlier and for a snip at US$75 if you visit the Indiegogo crowd funding site where the device is being funded.

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image: drivebot.io