Tom Kowalick

From the minute I entered it 46 years ago, the world of technology has been one filled with amazing surprises, including one just the other day. Last Thursday, I received a call from a guy named Tom Kowalick, founder of AIRMIKA, Inc. of Southern Pines, N.C. He is also an author of seven books, including Fatal Exit: The Automotive Black Box Debate (John Wiley/IEEE Press).

He was answering an email blast I sent out several weeks ago offering the services of HWH PR to many of the exhibitors attending CE Week, the tech trade show that will take place late next month. Tom, a North Carolina community college professor who taught the history of the Holocaust, is also an inventor. He had to explain his invention to me several times because I had no idea that for the last 10 years automobiles have had black boxes installed in them under the hood. Similar to black boxes on airplanes, the devices record data that tell police or insurance companies what they need to know in case of accidents or other mishaps. This information can potentially be used against you in a civil or criminal proceeding, or even by your insurers to determine rates.

Tom’s invention is called the AUTOcyb™, a mechanical lock-and-key that allows the owner to determine who sees the data in the black box and when they see it. AIRMIKA, Inc. makes the AUTOcyb, which Tom hopes to begin marketing nationwide. That is where HWH enters. He wants us to help him get exposure for the key and introduce him to a strategic partner for marketing and sales. Just like most other inventors, he is a one-man show.

What makes Tom so special is that he is the Chairman of Global Standards for Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorders (MVEDRs) at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE/SA). The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. He basically wrote the first universal standard for motor vehicle event data recorders.

The AUTOcyb helps to provide greater consumer protection lockout functionality, which prevents data tampering and fraud. It also addresses concerns over privacy rights, protecting data from misuse. Motorists are very vulnerable. Investigators could possibly download data right at a crash scene after which they can do whatever they want to with it. Tom’s key secures that data.

I am not sure if HWH PR will do work for Tom, but one thing is for sure: his key is going to protect us from ourselves and from those who want to know more about us. Go Tom!