Editor's note: Mulally's speech was covered live here.
LAS VEGAS--Ford CEO Alan Mulally says tech geeks will feel right at
home in Ford cars.
Mulally delivered the Thursday morning keynote at the Consumer
Electronics Show, where he said "smart technology" such as access to
smartphones and fuel efficiency are core to Ford's strategy.
"Green technology and smart innovation are helping us serve our
customers and differentiate Ford," Mulally said.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally giving a keynote address Thursday morning at CES
in Las Vegas.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
He started his talk noting the surge in usage of online applications
like Twitter and Facebook in the past year. Ford's Sync software
allows drivers to access these applications through smartphones using
Sync's voice activation features.
"Fortunately, the connectivity that Ford chose has proven to be right
because it has the ability to accommodate change...and connectivity
through a mobile phone," he said.
Mulally said Ford plans to extend its pilot program, in which Best Buy
will help Ford drivers become familiar with the Sync voice software,
to California and Pennsylvania. Its first trial found that drivers
enjoy the voice activation features, once they are familiar with them,
he said.
Update, 9:40 a.m. PST: Following Mulally, Ford's Derrik Kuzak
discussed the company's design goals in updating the car's in-cabin
technology and its strategy for fostering innovation within Ford cars.
Ford's design premise is that consumers want to remain connected to
their mobile devices or data in the cloud, even when they are in a
car.
"Customers say they want a Swiss Army knife device that includes a
digital camera and an MP3 player in a simple, elegant device. That's
what Ford is doing to the automobile," Kuzak said.
The company enlisted University of Michigan students to work with the
application development kit for Ford's Sync software, and they were
able to quickly create iPhone applications, he said. Now more
car-friendly applications, such as ones that let drivers warn others
of weather ahead, he said, can be developed.
Derrick Kuzak, group vice president of Ford's Global Product
Development, discusses the company's design goals.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
"The sky, or should I say the cloud, is the limit," he said.
Using voice commands to access music and communicate is far safer than
fiddling with car consoles or gadgets, according to Ford. In a study,
it found that the average person spent 25 seconds to select a song
from a handheld music player, compared to 2 seconds with Sync.
9:46 a.m. PST: Following Kuzak, Jim Buczkowski, director of global
electrical and electronics systems engineering at Ford, gave a
walk-through of MyFord Touch, the revamped in-car interface.
To develop the system, Ford has created teams of auto engineers and
"Silicon Valley types." It also worked with design firm IDEO on how to
simplify the controls, which are built around two LCDs next to the
odometer, and another 8-inch screen in the car's center stack that
uses a consistent color system for entertainment, telephony, climate
control, and navigation.
Different Ford brands will have their own versions of MyFord Touch,
starting with MyLincoln Touch, which will be available later this
year, with the 2011 MKX.
Later this year, MyFord Touch is set to be available in the 2011
crossover Ford Edge. It will later be available in the 2012 Ford
Fusion. In five years, Ford plans to have this interface available in
80 percent of its cars.
9:59 a.m. PST: Following a demo of how the Sync system can be
customized, a Ford executive gave an overview of Ford's connectivity
strategy and announced new features, including the ability to link
information from the Web to the car's Sync system.
Ford has formed a partnership with MapQuest that will allow a person
to get directions from the Web and send it to a Ford car, using Ford
Service Delivery Network. When in the car, people use voice commands
to access it and view it on the navigation system.
In addition, Ford announced that it plans to support the Message
Access Profile, which uses Bluetooth to read text messages through the
car's audio system. People can reply with a set of 15 voice-activated
commands.
10:06 a.m. PST: Next up is Julius Marchwicki, product manager for
connected services solutions, to further discuss the strategy behind
Ford's plans to integrate smartphone applications with Sync.
The company has a software development kit, or SDK, that lets mobile
developers create a version for Sync; the first are streaming-media
applications Pandora and Stitcher, along with Twitter.
"Our focus on mobile apps with streaming content was a good choice,
just based on the number of people driving with earbuds," said
Marchwicki, adding that 55 percent of Pandora users listen in the car.
Through the Sync API, developers can activate text-to-speech, give
voice commands, and access vehicle data, Marchwicki explained. They
can also use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB-based connectivity using the
development language of their mobile device, such as an iPhone or
BlackBerry.
10:18 a.m. PST:To finish the keynote, Mulally returned briefly to the
stage to say Ford is seeking to meet customer demands by emulating the
fast-paced innovation of the digital-technology industry.