Dexter, Missouri - Has the future of technology become uncomfortable to you?  Your reply to this question may be generationally biased, but the way in which technology rapidly surrounds our lives is often a challenge to our normal everyday life.

Whether you consider yourself a technology genius or you find struggles adjusting to the new automated world, we continue to see rapid expansion of gadgets filling our world.

The art of Telemetry is on the horizon and has been in development for many years.  This technology has evolved in many different industries, and has most recently become available to the consumer through a new gadget known as Automatic.  This technology is not necessarily new; however it is now been packaged for simple, easy to use to the general consumers through Automatic.

The effects of the Apple iPhone to our society has been a technological "game-changer" in how people interact, seek information and become more informed.  The idea that "there is an APP for that" continues to bring opportunities to the marketplace with new applications and gadgets that offer to us more of nearly everything. 

A recent offering by Automatic now offers to connect your smart phone to your car.  Does that sounds a little crazy?  Actually, this has been done for years at your local service station or auto dealership.  You would schedule an appointment and their handheld computer device would perform diagnostics on your car, reaching a conclusion of what needed to be repaired.

You may also be familiar or have experienced a call to OnStar, a roadside assistance program offered through your local GMC dealerships.  Even while driving down the road, an OnStar operator can provide you with advice regarding your cars performance and recommend needed repairs.

But Automatic is so much more than an evaluation of the mechanics of your auto.  Driver performance becomes a feature that is available through this device.  Driver feedback is developed related to rough braking, speeding and rapid acceleration that take place with the driver.  This data ultimately develops a "Drivers Score". 

This always brings about the argument that "Big Brother Is Watching".  No one really wants to be measured in our society on the basis of their driving habits.  What I do in my car is my own business - Right?  Well yes, sort of right. 

However, there are alternative features that make Automatic more of an interest to the general public overall.  Some of these incidental features could be considered convenience items, such as; Trip Timelines, Crash Alert, Check Engine Alerts, Engine Trouble Codes and even remembering where you parked.

But where is the significant contributions that are worthy of divulging our private driving habits and a $100.00 retail price for the Automatic gadget?  Being measured is typically not the first idea someone has when they jump into the front seat of their car.  In fact, being measured is something that society tries to avoid at all costs.

However, a more grand view of where this sort of technology is already beginning to develop is in the insurance marketplace.  The advertisements from leading insurance providers tout how customers can save money being willing to build their own driving personal history.

Most would argue that a good driver deserves better rates than a bad driver!  The use of telemetry brings this possibility into a reality in the future, as we are already beginning to see.

Do you text and drive?  It would be a reasonable assumption that if so, you would hit the rumble strips along on the shoulder of a major highway, or possibly have occasion to hit the brakes quickly.  Personally, a driver doesn't really want to expose that to the judgement of their insurance provider.  Does that make you a bad driver?  Not necessarily.  But does that make your driving habits a higher risk than someone who doesn't text and drive? 

A more personal vantage point would be from the position of the parents of a new 16 year old driver.  Parents teach their kids the safe and proper way to operate a car, but at that point are reduced to hope and prayer that the new driver will be safe.  Experience has been our only teacher.  The same value could be offered to the business-owner with employees that operate company vehicles.

The bottom line to these new technologies is that they offer pluses and minuses to our lives.  Knowledge is both good and bad, depending on the value the knowledge offers to our personal lives.  Automatic provides you a way to enjoy the knowledge privately at this point to manage and oversee your own family or business. 

SMT Readers can receive a special discount of 20% by clicking this link to order their own Automatic device.