Ford's Blogging Car

Recent Experiment Turns Cars Into True Mobile Devices

Imagine a car blogging about road conditions. How about a car checking in on Foursquare?  It's not as far off as you might think.  Ford recently teamed up with University of Michigan students for a road trip that could mark a dramatic shift in mobile connectivity. 

"This event is demonstrating that we at Ford do not view cars and trucks as just vehicles but as platforms for development," said TJ Giuli, Ford research engineer.

Early prototypes of the potential in car apps on future Ford vehicles.

Recently, Ford and U of M students took two separate 2011 Ford Fiestas from Ann Arbor, MI to the Maker Faire technology summit in San Mateo, CA.  What set this apart from the average road trip was how the cars were able to stay connected with each other and the outside world. 

The first Fiesta was piloted by Ford's research team and featured three experimental apps known as Virtual Road Rally, "Auto"matic Blog and Local Search.  Here's a breakdown of each:

• Virtual Road Rally allows users to define points-of-interest (POIs) or physical landmarks, similar to those found in a road rally. The app can take the form of a "treasure hunt," revealing information about various POIs as drivers reach them.
  
  Road Rally users could also create rallies focusing on their own towns, allowing drivers who may never have visited a particular place to learn more about landmarks and POIs. Such a feature would let drivers share their favorite drives and provide small towns and "off the beaten path" locations a new way to attract visitors to unique places.

• "Auto"matic Blog  The car itself will automatically blog or tweet statements about the journey based on information it gathers from various vehicle data sensors or engine computer codes.
  
  "For example, if one assumes that a happy car is one that's zipping along an open road or negotiating tight curves," explains Giuli, "the powertrain sensors – engine rpm, speed, steering inputs, g-loads, that sort of thing – can indicate to the car that it's in one of those fun situations, and the car can then indicate that with a tweet or blog post."
  
  AJ will also be able to indicate via GPS trace the roads on which it's driving when it feels certain ways, and the system will also allow it to take a photo to show other drivers – and perhaps, someday, other cars – the conditions that trigger its opinions.

         See updates from "AJ The Fiesta" here.

• Local Search uses a built-in social media component via the social networking app Foursquare. Each time the vehicle makes a stop, it will check in with Foursquare to identify the location, and it can also search for nearby restaurants, gas stations and parks.

With the recent update to the already remarkable Ford Sync system, it's clear Ford is looking to make some significant changes to automobile functionality and use.

For any Ford related questions in Buffalo, visit West Herr online or stop by our Hamburg or Amherst locations.  If you haven't played around with Sync yet, you need to ASAP.