Ford’s Stunning Cloud-Connected Evos Concept Car To Make Asia Debut At Computex 2012

 TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 4, 2012 – Ford’s stunning Evos Concept, which embraces cloud technology to enhance the driving experience, car will make its Asian debut at Computex 2012, one of the largest and most important computer exhibitions in the world.

 

The Evos Concept, which was first unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, not only embodies Ford’s new global design language but also offers a glimpse of the company’s vision on integrating more technology into its vehicles.

 

“Today, drivers have to adapt to the features and capabilities of their car,” said Pim van der Jagt, Managing Director of the European Ford Research Center. “What the Evos Concept does is take advantage of cloud technology so the car seamlessly adapts to the driver, taking the driving experience to a whole new level of personalization and convenience.”

 

The Evos Concept was built around a technology experience as visionary as the design. The result signals how Ford intends to build on the momentum of innovations like the SYNC in-car connectivity system.

 

The concept’s technology experience embraces a new generation of driver interaction and awareness currently under development by Ford. Seamless connectivity between the vehicle and the driver’s ‘personal cloud’ of information is at the heart of the vision for its capabilities.

 

“It’s amazing the level of possibilities as we continue to explore how we can provide a seamless lifestyle between a customer’s home, office and car by accessing the driver’s personal information,” van der Jagt said.

 

The car can use information from the driver’s cloud to provide the same connected lifestyle they experience at home or office. The car knows the driver, and automatically adapts handling, steering and engine controls to deliver an exceptionally dynamic driving experience.

 

Through integration of on-board data about driver preferences with cloud-based information such as work schedules, music and weather conditions, and local data delivered through vehicle-to-vehicle communications, Evos Concept aims to make life simpler.

 

“The car basically becomes your personal assistant, and as it gets to know you it can manage some of your regular routines such as a daily commute to the office,” said van der Jagt.

 

Evos Concept could also automatically play the same music or news program that was just streaming at home, or heat or cool the interior to an ideal temperature before the driver gets in without having to be requested by predicting departure time based on his calendar. Wirelessly communicating with devices in the home, it could close the garage door and switch off the lights automatically as it pulls away.

 

 

Ford researchers have also incorporated technologies to enhance driver health and wellness while driving. Features such as the heart-rate monitoring seat and certified allergy-free interiors connect to the cloud to monitor the physical state and workload of the driver, and adjust the driving experience accordingly.

 

The Ford Evos Concept is also equipped with advanced air quality sensors and filtration systems to help allergy sufferers. Location aware, it can access air quality data from the cloud and proactively suggest a healthier route to the destination.

 

“Our wellness research and technologies are focused on relieving driver stress and enhancing a driver’s situational awareness,” said van der Jagt. “Drivers around the world are spending more time behind the wheel, and the car should not be another stress point in their lives.”

 

Evos also utilizes the power of the cloud to understand driver behavior and travel patterns in order to make predictions about destinations and to adjust the control strategies for the state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Through understanding where the driver is likely to go, Evos can intelligently switch between running on battery or engine power in order to use the least amount of energy for any situation.

 

 

Ford Evos Concept explores adaptive vehicle technologies to redefine the driving experience.

 

Current technology requires vehicle chassis settings to be defined based upon the abilities and tastes of a cross-section of drivers and the topography of typical roads. The concept foresees tuning handling and performance to the road ahead and the specific individual behind the wheel.

 

Learning driver habits and capabilities, the technology can overlay map and weather data sourced from the cloud to adjust powertrain, steering, suspension and braking systems for optimum enjoyment, comfort and safety.  Because the vehicle is adaptive and honed to maximum performance based on the situation, it takes driving engagement to a new level.

 

In dynamic driving situations, the vehicle may simplify the appearance of the instrument panel to display only necessary gauge information and switch the driver’s connected smartphone to “Do Not Disturb” mode to help keep the focus of attention on the road.

 

Ford ‘powersplit’ hybrid architecture allows the electric motor and petrol engine to work together or separately to maximise efficiency. The advanced powertrain typically runs in all-electric mode before switching to charge-sustaining hybrid mode for continued optimal fuel efficiency.

 

Cloud connectivity would provide further opportunities to enhance performance and efficiency by selecting the optimum combination of powertrain modes for any given journey.

 

The cloud-optimised powertrain would automatically ‘know’ when to save energy and switch modes, using information about the vehicle’s predicted travel route, any emission zone restrictions during the journey and current weather conditions.