DOE announces Apps for Vehicles Challenge Winners

The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of the Apps for Vehicles Challenge. The competition asked app developers and entrepreneurs to demonstrate how the open data available on most vehicles can be used to improve vehicle safety, fuel efficiency and comfort.

DOE awarded New York City-based Dash the Judges’ Prize and MyCarma, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the Popular Choice prize. Green Button Gamer, based in Boston, Massachusetts, won the Safety Innovation award and Augusta, Georgia-based Fuel Economy Coach received the Fuel Efficiency Innovation award.

The Apps for Vehicles Challenge is focused on spurring innovative projects or services to reduce fuel costs and increase safety for consumers by utilizing vehicle-generated information, including data on engine speed, brake position, headlights, and distance traveled. Entries were judged based on their potential to help consumers improve fuel efficiency, creativity and innovation, use of open vehicle data, and consumer accessibility.

The Energy Department announced the competition during the first Energy Datapalooza in October 2012. Nearly 40 entries were submitted for the first phase of the competition, and seven were selected as finalists to advance to the second stage. These finalists also received guidance on their business plans and early stage prototypes from the industry experts, including Google, Connected World Magazine, Greenstart, OSISoft, CleanWeb and SAE International as well as the Departments of Energy and Transportation and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Specialized technical support was provided in the form of sample data creation by Ford Motor Company’s “OpenXC Platform” and Moj.io, a startup company focused on utilizing vehicle data and connecting cars. The products developed through the Apps for Vehicles Challenge are now available for download.