Your phone can help you reverse

If you drive a car without parking sensors, the risk of minor scratches and prangs when maneuvering into a tight space could be a thing of the past with a new app-enabled retrofit gadget called FenSens.

There are plenty of retrofit parking sensors on the market, but most require the car's bodywork to be drilled and a wiring loom installed. Not so the FenSens, which forms part of the license plate holder. After downloading the app to your smartphone, it pairs with the FenSens device with your smartphone. The app will automatically detect you backing up and provide audio, visual, and vibration warnings as you approach an object. It can be installed at both the front and rear of the vehicle.

The battery lasts about 5 months. Recharging the removeable battery takes 2 hours.

The FenSens is unable to offer as wide a field of view as its factory-fitted counterparts, but at a price of around £70 it's likely to find many willing customers.

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