{"323171":{"#nid":"323171","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student startup keeps cars \u2018FIXD\u2019","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe check engine light suddenly flashes and immediately the driver is overcome with worry. How serious is the problem? Is it OK to drive? How much is this going to cost to get fixed?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese questions are now easily answered thanks to FIXD, a device developed by a team of students from the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFIXD gets plugged into a car\u2019s diagnostics port, just underneath the steering wheel. The device connects a car to a person\u2019s smartphone via Bluetooth. It explains the cause for the check engine light, diagnoses the seriousness of the problem and provides repair estimates. The sensor also delivers updates on when the car needs repairs and regular maintenance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are helping drivers understand more about their cars,\u201d said John Gattuso, the company\u2019s CEO and a senior in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe startup surpassed its $30,000 goal on Kickstarter and is seeking seed round investors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn Android version of the app is scheduled to be on the market by November and the iPhone version is expected by March, said Rachel Ford, a senior in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering who handles the company\u2019s business development and investor relations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing now is extremely different from our technical engineering classes,\u201d Ford said. \u201cWe would not have been able to do any of this without the startup classes and programs Georgia Tech offered us.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFord, Gattuso and Kevin Miron, a recent Tech graduate, began working on the sensor last spring through a new course called Startup Lab. The class teaches students to channel their ideas into startups and covers everything from customer discovery to creating sustainable businesses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFIXD wasn\u2019t the group\u2019s original idea. They first created a device for women to make self-breast exams easier to complete on a regular schedule. But after interviewing about 80 women, they realized this wasn\u2019t a feasible idea for a startup. Instead they switched to a diagnostic tool for cars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe students turned down internships with other companies this summer to continue working on FIXD. A fourth student \u2013 Rikin Marfatia, a senior in the School of Computer Science \u2013 joined the team.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team was one of eight that completed Startup Summer, a new 12-week Georgia Tech internship for students who want to launch startups based on their own inventions and prototypes. Each team was paired with a mentor, assigned workspace and given $15,000 to further develop their ideas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe summer internship and spring course are part of an Institute-wide initiative to foster and support entrepreneurship among undergraduate students, said Raghupathy Sivakumar, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering who is involved in the initiatives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents retain all equity in the startups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTons of other Georgia Tech students have ideas for startups,\u201d Gattuso said. \u201cThey just need to be pushed off the ledge to try and do it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Company surpassed Kickstarter goal, device to be on market in coming months"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents invented FIXD while enrolled in Startup Lab, a Georgia Tech course taught during the spring semester. The team continued working on the device during Startup Summer.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Device helps drivers better understand their cars"}],"uid":"27918","created_gmt":"2014-09-09 10:12:55","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"Laura Diamond","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"323111":{"id":"323111","type":"image","title":"FIXD logo","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"FIXD logo","file":{"fid":"200161","name":"fixd_logo_v1.0_full_color.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fixd_logo_v1.0_full_color_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fixd_logo_v1.0_full_color_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":129090,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fixd_logo_v1.0_full_color_0.png?itok=lS13pDig"}},"323121":{"id":"323121","type":"image","title":"FIXD car shot","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"FIXD car shot","file":{"fid":"200162","name":"15c10200-p5-010.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p5-010_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p5-010_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2357611,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10200-p5-010_0.jpg?itok=rJqI1ska"}},"323141":{"id":"323141","type":"image","title":"FIXD app","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"FIXD app","file":{"fid":"200163","name":"15c10200-p5-014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p5-014_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p5-014_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2503905,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10200-p5-014_1.jpg?itok=Rb37j_qH"}},"323161":{"id":"323161","type":"image","title":"FIXD team","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"FIXD team","file":{"fid":"200164","name":"imgp6673.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/imgp6673_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/imgp6673_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":7824018,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/imgp6673_0.jpg?itok=wmRKO3pK"}}},"media_ids":["323111","323121","323141","323161"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"168101","name":"startup lab"},{"id":"166972","name":"startup summer"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.diamond@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}