Categories: Technology

Ford will link smartphones with touchscreens to allow safe, verbal control

Drivers of Ford 2018 models will be able to sync their smartphones with their in-vehicle touchscreens to give verbal commands while keeping their eyes on the road.

In order to combine safety with convenience, Ford has partnered with the world’s leading GPS app, Sygic. The technology aims to reduce a driver’s urge to pick up and look at their mobile device while on the go.

This new partnership works to keep eyes on the road and hands on the wheel by projecting the navigation information onto the touchscreen and leveraging voice recognition commands.

When a smartphone is paired to the vehicle via USB cable, control of the Sygic app is removed from the smartphone. The app is automatically projected to the vehicle touchscreen and linked to voice controls, making navigation apps more convenient to manage.

According to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of Americans are now smartphone users . Of more than 1,600 smartphone users who participated in the Pew study, 67% said they use their smartphones at least occasionally for turn-by-turn navigation while driving. Thirty-one percent said they frequently use navigation apps via their smartphones.

“With most Americans now using a smartphone, and the majority of those using it for navigation, Ford is proud to introduce this new capability,” said Don Butler, executive director, Ford Connected Vehicle and Services. “We expect this option for mobile navigation will help boost safety by keeping drivers’ eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.”

The two companies joined forces to build an AppLink capability between Sygic and Ford’s SYNC that will allow users to project navigation apps directly from a smartphone to the SYNC 3 vehicle touchscreen.

Sygic CEO Michal Štencl said, “Sygic is committed to exploring the boundaries of navigation, a philosophy that has directly contributed to our enduring reputation as the leader in navigation for connected cars. We look forward to unveiling new cutting-edge premium features and further developments in our global partnership portfolio throughout 2017.”

The Sygic Car Navigation app will launch on 2018 Ford vehicles.

Tim Hinchliffe

The Sociable editor Tim Hinchliffe covers tech and society, with perspectives on public and private policies proposed by governments, unelected globalists, think tanks, big tech companies, defense departments, and intelligence agencies. Previously, Tim was a reporter for the Ghanaian Chronicle in West Africa and an editor at Colombia Reports in South America. These days, he is only responsible for articles he writes and publishes in his own name. tim@sociable.co

View Comments

  • Wow, awesome weblog layout! Нow lօng hɑve yߋu evᥱr been blogging
    for? you make blogging glance easy. Thee οverall glance of ʏоur web site
    is fantastic, ass weⅼl aѕ thе ϲontent material!

Recent Posts

WEF CEO Brende resigns without mentioning Epstein connections

Daring not to speak his name, today's WEF press release left out any mention of…

21 hours ago

Building tomorrow’s creators: Inside a 9 year old’s AI education vision

According to a recent report by McKinsey, most organizations today are already experimenting with or…

2 days ago

The push and pull: How and why the EU forced Apple to open iPhone app distribution (Brains Byte Back Podcast)

For more than a decade, launching an app on an iPhone meant playing by one…

3 days ago

Tony Colon brings decades of experience in customer innovation to the Senior Executive Board at Prezent 

Deloitte’s latest State of AI in the Enterprise, released in January of this year, captured…

4 days ago

Helogen’s HEL-IOS to turn Starlab into autonomous biomanufacturing hub in orbit 

As the space industry continues to expand, driving technological progress, economic growth and strategic advances,…

6 days ago

Macron, Sunak praise India’s digital identity, health ID schemes: India AI Impact Summit

French President Emmanuel Macron and former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praise India for its…

7 days ago