Cellular Automatic Temperature System (CATS) for Vehicles

This paper describes the results of a research project completed in Spring 2008 at the University of Houston and shows details of the subsystems along with future enhancements of the Cellular Automatic Temperature System (CATS) for Vehicles. The interior of a vehicle can reach an extremely uncomfortable temperature after being left in the sun especially in the southern region of the United States. At such times, when a driver returns to his or her vehicle, they must sometimes cool it off themselves by venting the hot air; otherwise the interior components like the steering wheel or leather seats will be too hot to touch and could be distracting leading to lose control of the car. CATS was designed to provide an automatic system which helps in cooling the car. The driver is able to program the CATS by setting a desired cooling time before entering the vehicle. CATS is controlled using a cell phone or a web enabled system. Where CATS differs from other remote starter systems is the ability to start the car from anywhere by using a cellular telephone (or land line) or a web-based interface. The pager will turn the system ON depending on the car’s temperature. The interfacing of the pager with the system is explained in the following sections. The system when turned ON sets the ignition to ON position and starts the air condition to decrease the temperature in the car. It hence, proves to be quite helpful and efficient in many ways. The CATS was implemented in a 1995 Ford Escort and its functionality tested successfully. The Cellular Automatic Temperature System for Vehicles is currently under review by the office of Intellectual Property Management at the University of Houston for a potential patent.