Mercedes reveals a smart watch that can talk to your car

The device, created by Pebble Technology, is part of a new technical tie-up forged by Mercedes-Benz and the Silicon Valley-based company in the lead-up to the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next week.

Pebble’s smart watch works with Mercedes-Benz’s existing Digital DriveStyle app and effectively becomes a ‘second screen’ for a smart phone. When the driver is away from the car, a host of diagnostic information can be called up, while in the car, the smart watch can be configured to vibrate to alert its driver to potential hazards such as accidents, road works and other obstructions.

Users can customise the smart watch buttons to activate Digital DriveStyle features like reporting hazards, auto-routing, Siri activation, remote-controlling media, or quickly showing nearby traffic conditions.

Pebble Technology was established via the Kickstarter crowd-funding initiative. Its smart watch retails in the United States for $150 (about Rs 9,300).

The partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Pebble Technology will give the German carmaker early access to technology that could pave the way for its future vehicles to become fully integrated with other devices such as watches, laptops and phones.