Tech Tuesdays: Is MINI's Roadside Assistance App the Future of Telematics?

Last week MINI unveiled the future of roadside assistance and what could be the logical future of telematics services: a Roadside Assist app that works with Apple's popular iPhone and select BlackBerry devices.

Developed by Allstate Roadside Services, at the touch of a button the app connects a driver to a roadside assistance operator while pinpointing the vehicle's exact location and also providing all pertinent vehicle information.

So no more describing to a dispatcher where you're stranded or giving the make, model and color of your car. As with most automakers' roadside assistance programs, it's free within the vehicle's warranty period.

And like Ford Sync's 911 Assist feature, MINI's new roadside Assist App signals a further shift towards leveraging a communication/GPS device that most drivers carry anyway -- a mobile phone -- and perhaps away from traditional embedded telematics systems.

Of course, the MINI app doesn't automatically dial a service center, as with OnStar, or a 911 operator, as with Sync's 911 Assist, when the car is in a crash. At least not yet. But as Ford's 911 Assist shows, the feature is possible, although Ford's free telematics system has been criticized as unreliable since a mobile phone can be damaged in an accident and not able to send a rescue beacon.

While MINI owners can call using the app after an accident, for now the MINI Roadside Assist app only helps out when a driver runs out of gas, has a dead battery or mechanical trouble, gets locked out or a flat tire. And using the phone's built-in GSP receiver, the dispatcher knows the stranded driver's exact location as well as detailed information about the car.

After downloading the app, MINI drivers can enter detailed information: the car's VIN, their name and home address and even a picture of the car if they choose. Then when drivers launch the app, they simply select the service needed from the app's menu and press the "call" button. A dispatcher confirms help is on the way, the service provider's name and the estimated time of arrival is sent to the car owner's phone. Later, an automated follow-up is sent to verify that the help has arrived and the issue has been resolved.

While not a direct threat to OnStar like Ford's 911 Assist, the MINI app is another a step toward moving telematics onto a car owner's mobile phone. And maybe making it free.

Posted by

Doug Newcomb August 25, 2009, 3:00 AM

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Automotive Technology, Car Tech Tuesdays, MINI

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911 Assist, Allstate, BlackBerry, Ford, iPhone, MINI, OnStar, Sync