Student creates app that starts cars
Device seeks to stem the tide of hijackings
Matiye Tjabadi used to make toy wire cars with his friends as a young boy growing up in the Sekhukhune area in Limpopo.
Now the 25-year-old from GaMolepane village has developed the first version of a cellphone app that commands the engine of an old model car to start and stop at the owner’s will. “I’ve always thought a car has a soul and I wanted to know more about it,” Tjabadi says.
The final-year BTech student at Tshwane University of Technology has spent the past 16 months working on his prototype app for his finalyear assignment.
Tjabadi said there were millions of older model cars in South Africa that were easy pickings for thieves.
“These old cars are no longer being manufactured but they are still highly popular. We need to find a way to secure them because South Africa has a problem with hijacking and car theft,” Tjabadi said.
Tjabadi’s app allows the owner to have complete command of their car. The app commands the engine through a radio frequency and allows the owner to set the siren on if the car is stolen.
“At the moment this can only be done within a 5km radius but if I can secure more resources I will be able to command an engine from anywhere.”
Tjabadi has spent over R12 000 on materials to create his app and to build a computer system in his mother’s car.
“I had to do a lot of research to learn about the electronic parts of a car,” he said.
He said he almost gave up because of a lack of funds and being told by friends that he would never succeed.
Tjabadi hopes to secure a sponsor to help him continue developing his system and to pay for his studies as he continues on to masters level.
“I want to create African solutions for African problems,” he said.
The head of the computer systems engineering department at Tshwane University of Technology, Professor Pius Owolawi, said: “This is a brilliant conception because of its uniqueness.”