Wheel Alignment & ADAS
My next door neighbor was frustrated with his “State of the Art” $150,000 automotive diagnostic technology purchase. I took a look and suggested we could use an AirTag and an iPhone to solve the problem…
The Marketplace…
The market for this tool is huge!
At the time, we found out that there is a large need for a cheap, portable and non-permanent Wheel Alignment Tool. All alignment tools were permanent installations, that cost well over $100,000. (Not including installation.
I realized that I could build one cheaper. And we could easily adjust for each individual repair shop’s topology. And, because we were using a powerful set of tools, inside the mobile phone, we could do things the “legacy” wheel aligners could not.
Back of napkin math, showed that if we did a “Software as a Service” approach, we could charge a fee per wheel alignment. With 300 million cars in the US and about 700,000 mechanics, we could make a small fortune, if done right. This is looking good!
The Future…
Startups are a fusion of Ideas and Personalities.
It is an inherent weakness of creating a solid company. — In my experience.
But without risk-taking, nothing is ever invented.
After some funding issues I decided to remove myself, realizing that my partners had changed the direction of the company without my knowledge.
(Un)Fortunately, my engineers were able to overcome the last engineering challenges. But this did not satisfy my former partners, as they did not understand what they were working with.
As a result, to the best of my knowledge, the project is in limbo.
What a shame.
Patents were acquired. Software was written. Hardware was refined. An MVP was developed. But we ended up being still-born.
I wish Lee Lizarraga and Steve Tobenkin the best of luck with their new direction. Perhaps they have gained better insight into their products.
Backstory…
I discovered that Wheel Alignment and ADAS are very cost prohibitive for many automotive repair shops. Especially ADAS calibrations.
ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) include radar, video cameras, and other sensors to help the driver with a bunch a tasks. ADAS is also essential for self driving cars. (wikipedia link)
Why Wheel Alignment? Well, you have to have a properly aligned set of wheels, in order for ADAS to work. Bad alignment, means that ADAS won’t steer your car properly, (in the case of self driving.)
Our path forward meant that we needed to build a wheel alignment product, and then add ADAS afterwards.
Obtaining Investment…
I discovered that Wheel Alignment and ADAS are very cost prohibitive for many automotive repair shops. Especially ADAS calibrations.
ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) include radar, video cameras, and other sensors to help the driver with a bunch a tasks. ADAS is also essential for self driving cars. (wikipedia link)
Why Wheel Alignment? Well, you have to have a properly aligned set of wheels, in order for ADAS to work. Bad alignment, means that ADAS won’t steer your car properly, (in the case of self driving.)
Our path forward meant that we needed to build a wheel alignment product, and then add ADAS afterwards.