DETROIT – The idea was so simple that even the judges in a hackathon couldn’t believe no one had thought of it before: Why not have a built-in vehicle application with two buttons – one reading Personal and one Business – that a driver could choose from when starting a trip? The Business button would track mileage and fuel consumption for work-related trips that could be used for expenses or tax reporting.
While a non-business traveler might not care, many other apps being worked on within the GM Developer Portal could be just what another group of drivers are looking for inside their vehicles. App ideas are being developed at a steady rate and could appear in a General Motors vehicle someday. Since January, nearly 2,300 developers have registered on the portal, choosing to engage in a test environment with either GM’s Remote or In-vehicle application program interfaces, known as APIs.
With GM’s Remote APIs, developers can use simulated OnStar connectivity to develop apps that interact with the vehicle remotely, either from a smartphone, tablet or computer. GM’s in-vehicle APIs allow developers to use simulated vehicle information, such as location data or vehicle diagnostics, to create apps that would be incorporated into the vehicle’s infotainment system and would be available to download through a GM AppShop that is being developed.