Ditch the license plate holder that says you love your pug or your honor student and try on a new piece of car technology that could actually make you a better driver.
The FenSens smart license plate frame is designed for anyone who wants to add the safety advantage of high-tech parking sensors without paying the high price of new-car packages or aftermarket installs.
The wireless FenSens — at an early-bird price of $99 ($50 off) — installs in under 5 minutes with the use of four security screws (special screwdriver included) and connects via Bluetooth to the free iOS or Android app. The app provides audio, visual, and vibration alerts to the driver when an object, such as a car, is detected in the car’s rear blind spot.
The frame comes with a rechargeable battery that lasts 5 months and can be recharged via USB by popping out the battery pack and charging it indoors.
Seattle startup vet Andy Karuza is the CEO behind FenSens. The company says 90 percent of cars on the road in the U.S. do not have backup sensors and accidents, injuries and property damage are the result.
“We believe this great technology hasn’t been adopted because it’s either too expensive or much too complicated for the average driver to get value out of it,” Karuza said in a news release. “We decided to do something about it by focusing on delivering the best possible user experience that technology allows.”
Launched out of San Francisco, Karuza told GeekWire that the company was accepted into an accelerator program called Wearable World.
“I feel like it was a good opportunity for us to raise funds and build strategic partnerships through their global network of IoT partners,” Karuza said. “There isn’t quite a program like this that’s specific to our field in Seattle and I feel that to be most successful in startups, you need to be a part of the larger ecosystem outside of just one city.”
Karuza said more interconnectivity can only be better for both tech communities and will allow for “more deal flow, more entrepreneurship opportunities, and stronger partnership opportunities.”
As for giving older cars fresh life through add-on technology, Karuza may not stop at the bumper.
