FORD TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION WITH WIRELESS COMMUNITY FOR IN-CAR COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS

SYNC Voice Texting

 Video: YouTube |

 

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8, 2010 – With the annual fall gathering of the CTIA Wireless Association as a backdrop, Ford is showcasing how it plans to further improve the in-car connectivity experience for customers, and the role it hopes the wireless community can play in the company’s strategy going forward.

 

Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president of Global Product Development, is set to address the wireless telecommunications community at the 2010 CTIA Wireless Association Enterprise and Applications Conference in San Francisco today. Kuzak will outline key new smart features of the new MyFord Touch driver connect technology powered by Ford SYNC. He is also expected to invite the wireless community to collaborate more with Ford on creating safer, smarter and more seamless connectivity solutions in the vehicle to help drivers keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.

 

“Cars and wireless connectivity will only grow even closer together as more and more customers demand seamless connectivity between home, office and vehicle,” said Kuzak. “Ford has been a leader in in-car communications, but we could not have accomplished as much as we have without plenty of commitment and partnership. We hope we can continue to work together to build a business model that will work for us all as well as improve the ownership experience of our shared customers.” 

 

Ford is already proactively pursuing technology to improve the number of mobile phones that can “communicate” with Ford SYNC to provide more customers a safer solution to hand-held texting while driving.

 

According to a recent poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, approximately one in four (27 percent) American adults and driving-age teens (26 percent) admit to texting while driving.

 

Consistent with Ford’s industry-first support of a proposed federal ban and state-level legislation banning hand-held texting while driving, Ford has offered text-to-voice capabilities through SYNC since the system launched in 2007.

 

The latest generation of SYNC powering MyFord Touch builds on this safer, hands-free capability, becoming the industry’s first in-car connectivity system that allows drivers to not only listen to incoming texts, but reply via voice commands using 15 preset responses that can now be personalized.

 

Currently, SYNC can stream text messages from about half a dozen mobile phones, including several Sony Ericsson models such as the Equinox, as well as Motorola RAZR devices.

 

Wanting the number of compatible phones that support SYNC’s text message readback feature to continue to grow, Ford voluntarily adopted the latest Bluetooth standard – Message Access Profile (MAP) for the latest generation of SYNC. Defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the MAP standard outlines a set of features and procedures used to exchange email, SMS and MMS messages between devices. It is tailored to the automotive hands-free environment where an onboard terminal device – in this case, SYNC – takes advantage of the messaging capability of a communications device, such as a BlackBerry smartphone.  

 

The Bluetooth SIG recommendations are considered benchmarks, but they’re not industry requirements. Kuzak will detail how Ford elected to implement MAP to signal support for the protocol, and will encourage additional mobile device manufacturers to add the capability in their products.

 

“A limited population of phones has the capability to work with the text message readback feature of SYNC,” said Kuzak. “With the adoption of MAP technology, that number can grow rapidly, but it’s going to take collaboration and support from the phonemakers and the wireless industry. We’ve taken the initiative and encourage others to join us.”

 

Ford has already been working with Research In Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry smartphones, supporting the company’s intention to begin implementing MAP in all of its new BlackBerry smartphones, including the recently launched Torch.

 

Ford proactively designed SYNC with MyFord Touch to offer drivers a safer in-car solution for access to information and entertainment as well as popular mobile device functions such as text messaging. In addition, Ford has built in mechanisms that give customers more control of their drive and connectivity experiences. MyKey^®, a standard feature with MyFord Touch, for example, allows owners with teen drivers to control vehicle speed and audio volume through a programmable key, while the “Do Not Disturb” button can block incoming phone calls and text messages, if the driver so desires.

 

With MyFord Touch, when a driver receives a text message on a Bluetooth-paired phone, SYNC will alert the user with an audible tone and a display screen pop-up that identifies the messenger. To listen to the new text, the driver simply hits the voice button on the steering wheel and then says the command, “Read message,” always keeping hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

 

Once a message is heard, drivers have the option to respond by calling the person back with a simple voice command, or by replying with one of 15 preset responses, saying, “Reply to text message,” and then speaking the line item of their chosen text message selection. 

 

The 15 presets cover the gamut and include:

 

Ford now offers users the ability to edit these responses for further personalization. Edits can be as simple as adding a favorite term of endearment to creating completely new phrases.

 

Changes to the preset text message replies can only be made while the vehicle is at a complete stop, using the MyFord Touch touch-screen keypad.

 

“Our goal is to give customers a driving experience where listening to a text message is no different than listening to a news announcer on the car radio,” said Jim Buczkowski, director of Ford Global Electrical and Electronics Systems Engineering. “Ford SYNC provides a better answer to picking up the phone and taking your eyes off the road to read messages.”

 

Since Ford believes a driver’s primary focus should be on the task of driving, the company also locks out or limits content and capabilities of MyFord Touch when the vehicle is in motion, for instance:

 

 

Specific functions that are locked out when the vehicle is in motion:

 

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