five seconds. This service is in all Ford vehicles worldwide. The choice is up to the vehicle owner to have this service. If we start talking about replacing elements of the vehicle,
it’s a truism that it might begin to impact the vehicle’s ability to do certain things. For example, if you remove the head unit and put in an aftermarket head unit, the car will do fancy things, but you will have lost that 911 service. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but you will have lost that from the vehicle. You can either replace it with something that does the same but more, or you can intentionally replace it with something that is different but in doing so explain what the trade-off is to the customer.”
With safety in mind, is Ford developing any new meth- ods down the line for interfacing, such as tracking eye movement? “As part of our advanced research we are exploring gestures
and physicality. One of the things we looked at in 2012 was the HELTH seat, which was a research effort to incorporate biomet- rics into driving experiences. That car seat can detect slumping if you might be falling asleep, rapid eye movement, and even a cardiac event like a heart attack. There are all sorts of sensor opportunities like gestures, inputs, bio readings, and more. Active research efforts are underway.”
What are you currently working on? How will it change
the way customers interact with the vehicle? “We’re working on the evolution of the head unit. We are looking at new sensor types to add in. As you bring new connec- tivity to a car, and higher bandwidth connectivity, you begin to elevate the conversation—whether it’s Ford giving you software updates, or the car becoming part of a world of connected ele- ments (the Internet of things). It’s all about being able to add technology to a car that shipped three years ago.”
How do manufacturers feel about collaborative
interfaces such as CarPlay? Does it help the automotive environment or is it a competitor to proprietary systems existing or under development? “It’s a Jekyll and Hyde situation. Certainly it’s directly com-
petitive. For Ford, CarPlay and Google Automotive are directly competitive with our Smart Device Link. As a manufacturer, we have to balance a number of different concepts. We need to balance what the customer wants and what they’ll need, and understand the car has a multitude of lives. It’s not just the first car owner or the second car owner. Car relationships are 10 to 11 years now. Ford has publicly stated they will support CarPlay and Google Automotive, but there must be an automotive-centric alternative that is not linked to any one technology company like Google or Apple.”
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