Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the Ford Motor Company has seen dozens of competitors come and go through all eras. Ford has never rested on their laurels with the potential to sit on the early success of Henry Ford making them complacent. They haven’t been and continue to innovate well into the 21st century.
The following are four forward-thinking tech features found in various models of Ford Vehicles.
1. View Smart Window
This is a prototype model announced in May 2018 that can change the way blind people experience car rides in the future. The concept is simple, with a photo taken by the ‘Feel The View’ box, which is developed in a monochrome image. Special LED’s then recreate the photo on the glass and when blind people touch the glass, there are 255 different vibrations from different shades of gray omitted. These different vibrations replicating the landscape from the photo.
2. FordPass SmartLink
Buying a new car is a struggle as you know whatever you buy will be outdated as soon as the next model is released. Ford has taken this on board and launched a small device called FordPass SmartLink. Plugging into your OBD II diagnostic port, all Ford vehicles from 2010 to 2017 can get a host of the latest features released, including:
- 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot
- Smartphone control of existing key features
- Vehicle location tracking
- Vehicle health and security alerts.
The device has a low monthly fee starting from $17 and a one-time installation fee that covers you for 24 months.
3. SYNC® 3
The tagline for SYNC® 3 is simple: Smart hardware. Smart software. Smart design.
The latest updates to SYNC include voice-activated technology taken to a new level with the following capabilities:
- Straightforward music searching
- Enhanced voice recognition
- Climate control enabling you to focus on the road
- Sync® 3’s easy destination entry with navigation from SiriusXM® Traffic and Travel Link®
Still, the biggest innovation is a result of Ford joining forces with Alexa. If you’re used to Amazon Alexa in your home, you can now take Alexa on the road with the Ford+Alexa app. This enables voice navigation, gives you up to date traffic information, Amazon Prime shopping, and you can control your Smart Home devices from your car. That’s just the tip of the iceberg with over 30,000 Alexa skills and counting.
4. Driver Assist Package
The latest driver assist package from Ford is their new Co-Pilot360 with the purpose to give drivers more confidence while safely navigating the increasingly congested streets. While it’s not autopilot just yet, some of the features include:
- automatic emergency braking (for vehicles in North America)
- pedestrian detection
- blind spot information system
- auto high beam lighting
- adaptive cruise control
- lane keeping systems
- evasive steering assist and post-collision braking
Note: not all features are available on all models.
Ford has been a leader in innovative vehicle technologies for over a century, and with forward-thinking tech features constantly being sought after and released, there’s no reason they cannot continue to do so for centuries to come.
“Ford” by JeepersMedia used under license CC BY 2.0 /cropped from original
