Open Software

Submitted 8 years ago

Toyota tries to keep on top of tech - but They need to be more open with their information. Like their car finishes they need to be able to provide detailed information on the mix of the finish - method of application and expected life. The same sort of information should be made available for the software in their cars. They have a very good product but their should be a massive user manual on the web for each product giving full information. When I get a toyota I also get the full set of manuals for it from Toyota (~$300). But these manuals do not dive down deep enough into the DNA of the car to help the user know what his care is doing. Just like we can look at all the DNA in our body we should be able to look at each line of code in the car and look at each blue print that was used in the making of the car. Also if I get on a toyota bus for a trip I should have access to the full information about that bus via the web. You should have started this a while ago. But you need to start educating the public about the future of cars. The future of their owner ship - the future of their safety and the future of the cost of car travel. All of these thins will become lest costly, more safe, and less ownership. With open software in cars you will have all car's software being looked at by professionals and be commented on. The change of bad software will vanish in the sunlight. What will change with open car software? The ideas will get cross licensed and be more prolific. No one can offer to take a licence for a part of some software if they do not know that it exists. Even today we should have (and with open software we would have) cars that will keep track of you diving habit and mpg and know were the gas stations are. And therefore be able to tell you when to buy gas and where to buy it to get the best price and the most convenience. The same goes for electric charging stations. With open software in cars how will upgrades be handled? Will there be completion from 3rd party software outfits and "free ware" outfits? What is the need for better EPA testing? Will the EPA begin grabbing cars off the street for "random" testing of pollution and mpg (like the random drug testing in sports)? Will self learning software for cars become standard. The cars will upload the things that are learned each day and redistribute the information to all the care overnight. The cars will become know it all very quickly. If there is a pot whole or a sink whole it will be know about to all very quickly. The cost saving will be great with less damage to cars and people. The forecast of car needs in the future will be more accurate because of the closer tracking of the present use of the cars. A user report could be generated from the car activity and be used to provide the drive with ideas about how to improve their lives or to show where their lives are going astray. The computers in cars should be proving tighter tracking of the maintenance and cost of maintenance for cars to provide the owner with better idea of the transportation cost that is being expended. The cost of maintenance will go down with better tracking the the maintenance on the cars. The relative cost of cars in different parts of the county could be better understood with compute tracking of the information. Customers could enter comments at the end of each day if they want to to provide better interface between Toyota and the customer. The use of open software will be a big boon to the auto industry and provide for a much cleaner environment and less down side for the auto companies.