Ford Adds More Tech, Safety To Cars
Ford Motor Co. issued a raft of technology-related announcements early Wednesday.
Among the highlights:
* Ford is adding its SyncAppLink to 10 additional vehicles for 2012, expanding the reach of the award-winning software application that gives Sync users industry-exclusive hands-free voice control capability of smartphone apps
* Ford will quickly expand availability of the just-launched rear inflatable seat belts by offering them on the Ford Flex and on Lincoln vehicles starting next summer. The industry-first rear inflatable seat belts are designed to reduce head and neck injuries for rear seat passengers, especially children and older people. The system debuted on the 2011 Ford Explorer.
* Ford is teaming with Nuance Communications, a leader in voice and language technology, to research new voice recognition capabilities that will help drivers converse more easily with Ford Sync by accurately interpreting command intent -- what drivers are looking to do
* Displays in Ford vehicles will now feature wider, bolder fonts within vehicle controls and interface screens for easier legibility, particularly among the rapidly increasing number of drivers 60 and older
The Sync AppLink expansion will now include the 2012 Ford Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Fiesta, F-150, F-150 SVT Raptor, Super Duty, Expedition, E-Series and Shelby GT500 join the previously announced 2012 Ford Mustang as AppLink-equipped vehicles.
Plus, more mobile innovations are on the way, with additional Ford jobs planned for the company's Connected Services Solutions Organization – and 2,500 independent developers already signaling they are interested in creating more apps for Ford through the company's dedicated Sync developer website (www.syncmyride.com/developer).
With the SDK, developers can modify an existing app or create an all-new app that can successfully interface with Ford Sync through AppLink. Categories under Ford consideration include:
* Personalized entertainment
* Personalized information and news
* Location-based services including navigation, traffic and business searches
* Notifications and alerts leveraging the SYNC ability to mash up vehicle information, GPS locations and more, all to provide the driver with customized information and guidance
* Scheduling and planning apps that could include notifications of flight status, for instance, in the event flights are delayed or rescheduled
"We understand more and more drivers are using their devices and their apps while in the car," said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford Connected Services Solutions. "Ford is a part of the solution, offering voice-activated options such as Ford Sync with AppLink on a broader range of our products, which gives more customers a smarter way to access their apps while driving that keeps their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road."
Ford has great expectations for AppLink as it migrates to more products and more customers, especially Fusion and F-150 owners, already avid buyers of the Sync system. Currently, more than 84 percent of 2011 Fusions sold are equipped with Sync, with F-150 coming in at more than 76 percent for the optional in-car connectivity system.
VanDagens adds that the Ford Connected Services Solutions Organization, responsible for developing the company's in-car connectivity services, is also on its own accelerated growth plan to stay in step with – if not a step ahead of – how the car connects with the latest and greatest in the mobile electronics industry.
During the next four years, the global Connected Services team will grow fourfold, with a threefold jump planned for U.S. operations alone.
As for the inflatable seatbelts, their addition to the Ford Flex builds on the Top Safety Pick ratings the vehicle recently earned from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Ford plans to continue offering the inflatable belts affordably after launching them on the new Explorer.
Early data show approximately 40 percent of Explorer buyers are parents who are ordering the rear inflatable belts, said Amy Marentic, Car and Crossover Group marketing manager.
Advances in airbag inflation and seat belt construction methods have enabled Ford and its suppliers to develop inflatable seat belts that are designed to deploy over a vehicle occupant's torso and shoulder in 40 milliseconds in the event of a crash. In everyday use, the inflatable belts operate like conventional seat belts and are compatible with child safety seats. In Ford's research, more than 90 percent of those who tested the inflatable belts found them to be similar to or more comfortable than a conventional belt because they feel padded and softer. That comfort factor could help improve the 61 percent rear belt usage in the U.S., which compares to 82 percent usage by front seat passengers, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
In the event of a frontal or side crash, the inflated belt helps distribute crash force energy across five times more of the occupant's torso than a traditional belt. That expands its range of protection and helps reduce the risk of injury by diffusing crash pressure over a larger area, while providing additional support to the head and neck. After deployment, the belt remains inflated for several seconds before dispersing its air through the pores of the airbag.
Vehicle safety sensors determine the severity of the collision in the blink of an eye and deploy the inflatable belt's airbag. Each belt's tubular airbag inflates with cold compressed gas, which flows through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat.
The use of cold compressed gas instead of a heat-generating chemical reaction – which is typical of traditional airbag systems – means the inflated belts feel no warmer on the wearer's body than the ambient temperature. The inflatable belts also fill at a lower pressure and a slower rate than traditional airbags, because the device does not need to close a gap between the belt and the occupant. The inflatable belt's accordion-folded bag breaks through the belt fabric as it fills with air, expanding sideways across the occupant's body.
"It's a very simple and logical system, but it required extensive trial and error and testing over several years to prove out the technology and ensure precise, reliable performance in a crash situation," said Srini Sundararajan, safety technical leader for Ford Research and Innovation.
The deal with Nuance, meanwhile, aims to find a way to make voice recognition even easier and more intuitive for drivers to successfully use, especially first-timers. Ford and Nuance are testing a number of new algorithms, based on intent and meaning, for the voice recognition system in Ford Sync that is powered by Nuance voice solutions. These new techniques can flag common words and phrases that drivers might typically use in conversation, yet are not the specific commands or syntax required by today's Sync system.
By interpreting or understanding the user's request, Sync will be able to execute the command or respond by coaching the user down the correct command pathway. Working closely with Ford's speech team, Nuance has created several language models for the core Sync voice-activated functions and services, including phone, music, climate, navigation and traffic. With these language models, the Sync system is able to interpret what the user is intending to do, and then complete the task.
Since its launch in 2007, Sync has been continuously improved and can now understand 100 times more commands than the original system, allowing users to take fewer steps and use more conversational commands to control SYNC features and services.
Additionally, Nuance's voice technology at the heart of the Sync system features "voice learning" capabilities that become more accustomed to the driver's voice over time. So while there is no training required, Sync becomes familiar with the voice of its driver for a onsistent experience. Nuance's natural text-to-speech technology is also behind "Samantha," the voice of Sync, providing drivers with a more natural, conversational experience with their Ford vehicle.
Finally, as for the bigger fonts on displays, Ford officials said they will bold and thicken characters on many interior controls across its lineup beginning with the Ford Edge and Ford Explorer next year, making it easier for people of all ages, particularly aging Baby Boomers, to read display fonts.
Ford's legibility study used Ford engineers for the younger subjects and local retirees for the older group. The study found that even small changes in the fonts used in interior graphics can make them easier and quicker for drivers of all ages to read and recognize.
The letters and numbers that form words and convey other information on the center stack display on the next-generation vehicles will be slightly thicker, with an approximately 40 percent wider stroke width.
The key is to make the words and numbers a bit bolder, but not overwhelming, said Research Engineer Shannon O'Day. Even with high-tech gadgets and components, simpler often works better -- and the key is to pay attention to the width and stroke of the text, allowing them to play off each other.
