DIMO AutoPi Review: An Activity Tracker and Digital Companion for Your Car That Earns $DIMO Rewards for Streamed Data

Vehicle makers are making our cars much smarter, but the data generated requires a device for it to be accessed and understood. The DIMO AutoPi is a device that connects your vehicle to an app so you can access that information while also offering the ability to mine $DIMO tokens, a native blockchain-based token of the DIMO cryptocurrency protocol that is issued to users and contributors. Long story short, with DIMO, connected drivers can earn $DIMO tokens based on streamed vehicle data and also view their vehicle’s health through the connected app.

What are DIMO and $DIMO Tokens?

Before discussing the DIMO AutoPi, we should probably talk about DIMO and what $DIMO tokens are.

$DIMO is the native ERC-20 token of the DIMO protocol that is issued to users and contributors. As DIMO puts it, “you can think of it like an airline reward point for your car, but with additional superpowers.”

When drivers connect their cars and stream data, they earn $DIMO. Everyone earns a portion of the weekly drop (baseline issuance), and they earn more when app developers and data consumers pay for their data or vehicle access (marketplace issuance).

Any transactions that involve the sale of the data your vehicle generates require the purchaser to pay in $DIMO. The portion owed to you is paid in $DIMO; when that happens, some $DIMO is also “burned” or taken out of circulation.

How do people earn DIMO Rewards?

To get started with earning DIMO tokens, people can follow these simple steps:

1. Create a DIMO account: The first step is to sign up for a DIMO account on the DIMO Mobile App. Sign up with Google or Apple, and then you can create a reward wallet.

2. Link your vehicle: Next, connect your car. Some can connect right away with a software connection; others need the DIMO hardware device, which is like other car diagnostics devices except it’s internet-enabled.

3. Connect with participating merchants: Users should explore the DIMO ecosystem in app to find participating merchants, such as gas stations, repair shops, and car accessory stores. These merchants are part of the DIMO network and will offer rewards in the form of DIMO tokens for eligible purchases.

4. Spend and earn: When users spend money at participating merchants for car-related expenses like fuel, maintenance, or accessories, they’ll earn DIMO tokens as a reward. The amount of tokens earned will depend on the specific promotion or offer provided by the merchant.

5. Manage and redeem rewards: Users can check their DIMO token balance, view transaction history, and redeem tokens for discounts, deals, or services within the DIMO ecosystem through their account. They can also manage their tokens using the DIMO mobile app or web platform.

By following these steps, users can easily start earning DIMO tokens and take advantage of the benefits offered by the DIMO Rewards program.

The DIMO Data Miners produced by the DIMO AutoPi are backed with individual device IDs with $DIMO. Users of the DIMO AutoPi become $DIMO token holders with the power to influence various aspects of the protocol.

They can vote on important decisions such as software code upgrades, defining protocols and standards, determining who can license the intellectual property (IP), deciding how fees are generated, and establishing how rewards are distributed. They can choose collectively on updates to the token’s properties and use cases.

The idea here is that those who are actively using DIMO should be the ones steering its development and the decision-making processes, making this a more user-centric approach rather than one driven solely by financial gains for external shareholders.

Drivers earn rewards, or $DIMO tokens, based on a standard (baseline) amount and the demand for their vehicle data and connectivity in the market.

$DIMO is a type of digital token that operates on both the Polygon and Ethereum blockchains; there are a total of 1,000,000,000 $DIMO tokens in existence.

The distribution of these 1 billion $DIMO tokens follows the standard practices in the industry. Portions of the token supply are allocated for protocol rewards, the project’s treasury, the initial team involved, and capital partners who provided initial funding; they have assigned 70% of the tokens to users and the treasury.

How does this fit in with your car?

A vehicle identification number (VIN) is a unique identifier created 70 years ago. DIMO is bringing vehicle identification to the forefront by introducing an on-chain open Vehicle ID (NFT) for your car.

This NFT isn’t just a picture; it’s your access to ownership records, specific driving data, and control over your vehicle. As your vehicle data is sent to the DIMO network, it’s securely transmitted and permanently linked to the Vehicle ID. Additionally, important documents like the vehicle title and insurance and attestations (like having a V8 engine) can be similarly linked to ensure accuracy.

On top of that, users can customize roles and permissions related to their car, such as deciding who can see its location, driving data, or even transferring ownership. Essentially, DIMO aims to revolutionize how we manage and interact with our vehicles.

Why use blockchain for this information? Traditional entities like car manufacturers, insurance companies, banks, and DMVs are hesitant to depend on a private company’s database as the official digital ID for a car. They don’t want others controlling the data secretly, setting the rules, and excluding them.

For them to embrace DIMO, the key is having a decentralized and trustworthy source for a vehicle’s digital ID. The infrastructure needs to be open and impartial. With this approach, no car manufacturer, mechanic, or loan underwriter needs to worry about DIMO or any other company having control or messing with the records.

This is a significant innovation that could make them consider using DIMO.

So why does DIMO want to collect data from your car?

With 275 million cars in the US alone, vehicles generate significantly more data than web browsing, especially with the growth of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and vehicle electrification.

Legislation like the Right to Repair and car hacker communities make vehicle data accessible, allowing owners to record and transmit information in a usable format.

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) invest heavily in electrification and automation, creating potential liabilities that better data can mitigate.

Currently, vehicle owners are not benefiting from the monetization of their data. Companies like Wejo and Otonomo purchase data from automakers without the users’ knowledge, limiting the availability, reliability, and neutrality of these data products.

DIMO aims to create a user-friendly environment that allows developers to generate additional value for connected vehicle owners. Vehicle owners interested in adding their vehicles and monitoring their vehicle’s health can earn $DIMO by sharing their data.

To that end, DIMO has teamed up with Autopi to create an independent hardware system to develop a user-friendly, plug-and-play, ARM-based open hardware product that can be easily connected to any car manufactured since 1988.

This device interacts with the car’s communication system, known as the CAN-BUS, capturing and verifying signals the car sends. To ensure data authenticity, the device uses an Ethereum wallet for secure data signing.

Users can incorporate this hardware as the primary data collection method or as an additional layer onto existing OEM-provided API connectivity options.

DIMO and AutoPi miners utilize a secure element in the hardware, collecting data directly from vehicles. The Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) in modern ARM processors safeguards against spoofing, ensuring a secure and future-proof environment for executing transactions directly on the device.

DIMO’s Ecosystem has partners that will help you save on maintenance, financing, and other costly aspects of car ownership. Access battery intelligence, smart insurance, vehicle health, car sharing and more from the DIMO Mobile app.

You can read more about DIMO tokens and how this works by clicking here.

The DIMO AutoPi Device

The DIMO AutoPi connects to your 2008 and newer vehicle’s OBD 2 port and doubles as an information center and a Crypto miner. While earning these $DIMO tokens, users can access telemetry and trip data and track their vehicle with GPS. The setup is easy, and the device is simple to use.

To connect, you simply download the DIMO App and plug the DIMO AutoPi into your vehicle’s OBD2 port. The app has detailed instructions for setting up your vehicle and creating your $DIMO wallet.

I recommend creating your wallet via the app if you are new to crypto; it only took seconds and was easy to do.

Once connected, your vehicle is registered to your DIMO device and cannot be changed to another vehicle, so it’s a good idea to only do this with a vehicle you plan on keeping for at least three years, as that’s how long the DIMO AutoPi offers free connectivity, although you will have a lifetime community subscription to AutoPi Cloud Access.

Using your VIN, the device will know what make and model vehicle it is connected to and display a representative photo of your vehicle. It would be nice if users could change the color of their vehicle or upload a picture of their vehicle to use in this spot, though.

Once set up, your vehicle data is available in the app and the DIMO ecosystem. Security measures are in place to ensure your personal and vehicle information privacy. Still, as mentioned in the DIMO overview above, companies can purchase the data created while driving from DIMO.

Privacy Features built into DIMO

Data encryption: Any data collected by DIMO is fully encrypted in transit. Details about who you are, where you are, and how you drive are stored separately.

Privacy zones: Enable privacy zones around specific locations (like the office and your neighborhood) if you ever want to turn off geolocation tracking.

As you can see, the app knows the year, vehicle model, and make and immediately includes some information on your vehicle battery, fuel percentage left, and mileage to empty.

With the DIMO app, you can:

Monitor vehicle health: Track your fuel consumption, oil levels, battery health, and miles of range. DIMO’s diagnostics help you get the best from your car and save money in the long run.

Log all your activity: From referral and reward notifications to milage updates, your real-time activity feed displays everything you need to know about your DIMO account—and your vehicle.

Record your full service history: Log oil top-ups, tire changes, and safety inspections. Your entire vehicle maintenance history—there whenever you need it.

Get maintenance alerts: From leaking tire pressure to low fuel levels, sign up for alerts and stay up to speed with everything that’s happening under the hood.

Vehicle error codes: When your vehicle has issues, talk to it and fix the problem – no expensive mechanic fees are needed.

Store vehicle documents: Upload your title, registration, and repair information to the virtual glove box. All your documentation—accessible anytime, anywhere.

You will also see the marketplace value of your vehicle, engine load, and current GPS location. Each of these categories provides more information if you tap on them.

The information gathered by the DIMO AutoPi displayed in the app is great for gearheads like me, but it can also be useful to monitor a fleet of vehicles for a company or family.

Since I drive a Jeep, I really love the DIMO AutoPi’s ability to scan for codes. I currently have three codes to fix, which I already knew, but being able to see them at any time is a great feature. What’s missing is a way to clear the codes or see what they mean without searching outside the app, though.

The DIMO app also has a marketplace section showing how many $DIMO tokens you have earned and offering other services. I can see this app section continuing to grow as more people adopt DIMO and companies join.

The DIMO AutoPi is a unique product, and while you may have some concerns about offering vehicle information to outside businesses who are willing to pay for it, the fact of the matter is that whether you realize it or not, you already are.

Shouldn’t you have a way to get a cut of what’s being paid for the information already being gathered and sold without your permission? With the DIMO AutoPi, you do, and three years of connectivity is included.

Two things worth mentioning are that if you already have an app for your car, like the Tesla, Toyota, or FordPass app, you won’t need the DIMO AutoPi, as they can connect directly to the DIMO app. And that the DIMO AutoPi and DIMO app are only meant for users in the US, Canada, EU, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey.

I have enjoyed using the DIMO AutoPi so far, and I’m excited to see where the company takes the device and the $DIMO token ecosystem. The vehicle information is useful, and I like to monitor it for my vehicle’s health. The ability to scan for codes will help diagnose any current problems and assist in finding repair plans, although I would prefer that the app better explained the codes generated and if there were a way that error codes could be cleared via the app.

Even so, all the features are useful, and users can earn $DIMO tokens while using the DIMO AutoPi. I currently have 64 $DIMO tokens in my wallet and will likely let them build. It isn’t easy to sell the tokens, but there is a way to link them and convert them in your wallet.

When companies buy your data, rewards are given in the form of tokens, so the more you stay connected or interact with the marketplace, the more you can earn and use for offers and discounts sent by DIMO.

If you are new to crypto, transferring the coins to cash is a tedious task if you aren’t already well-versed in cryptocurrency. It takes several steps to turn the coins into Bitcoin to cash them, but it is possible.

If you’re interested in this concept of earning $DIMO tokens and accessing your vehicle’s data with the same device, the DIMO AutoPi is a great option to consider, and if you use the code 81G4AH when you sign up, we’ll both get to get 50 $DIMO tokens!

The DIMO AutoPi retails for $299; it is available directly from the manufacturer.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Intuitive app experience; A lot of vehicle data is made available to the vehicle’s owner; Easy to install and use; Earn $DIMO tokens simply by sharing the data generated by your vehicle

What Needs Improvement: Changing $DIMO tokens into crypto is a tedious task if you aren’t already well-versed in cryptocurrency; What’s missing is a way to clear the codes or be able to see what they mean without having to search outside the app