In a world of automotive cellphone hate, Ford promotes SYNC as the solution
By Tim Stevens 
posted July 9th 2010 9:31AM
posted July 9th 2010 9:31AM
As States Mull Bans, Ford Improves SYNC to Give Drivers Safer Alternatives to Hand-Held Texting
DEARBORN, Mich., July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Ford adds "Do Not Disturb" button to block incoming calls and texts on new MyFord Touch-equipped vehicles and proactive feature content "lock-outs" to encourage use of voice control
In addition, Ford integrates new Bluetooth Message Access Profile (MAP) into SYNC for all MyFord Touch-equipped vehicles so more drivers can have texts read aloud to them while driving
Research In Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry smartphones, plans to adopt MAP and enable SYNC audible text messaging capability to work with all new smartphones; Ford urges other phone manufacturers to follow
As the issue of texting while driving grows in prominence nationally, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is expanding its SYNC technology with new features to give drivers safer alternatives to hand-held texting and keep them more focused on the road.
To help make the in-car connection safer, Ford is improving the SYNC text message readback feature and empowering drivers with a "Do Not Disturb" button so they can decide the level of connectivity and communications they want to manage while in the car. Ford is also taking the proactive step to "lock-out" capabilities that are not relevant to the task of driving while the vehicle is in motion.
"Text messaging has become the default communications method for consumers of all ages," said John Schneider, chief engineer, Ford multimedia and infotainment engineering. "The power of SYNC voice control combined with Ford's latest connectivity improvements will reduce the temptation to pick up the phone and take your eyes off the road, providing a safer solution for the use of mobile devices in the car."
Ford believes drivers should keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel and was the first automaker to support a proposed federal ban and state-level legislation banning hand-held texting while driving. In turn, Ford also understands that drivers want to be connected to their mobile worlds while on the road, and texting continues to grow as a preferred communication method. According to a new poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, for example, approximately one in four (27%) American adults and driving age teens (26%) admit to texting while driving.
Ford will offer the new features on 2011 model year vehicles equipped with MyFord or MyLincoln Touch, the intuitive driver connect technology that provides drivers personalized access to information and entertainment through voice control, touch screens and familiar five-way controls mounted on the steering wheel.
Bluetooth MAP
Bluetooth is the standard technology that allows electronic devices such as a mobile phone and Ford SYNC to communicate with each other wirelessly. To improve the number of phones that can "communicate" with SYNC so the system can read aloud incoming text messages to drivers, Ford has adopted the latest Bluetooth standard – Message Access Profile (MAP).
"Today, only a small population of phones have the capability to work with the text message readback feature of SYNC," added Schneider. "With MAP technology, even more drivers will be able to use SYNC to listen to text messages."
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. Ford has elected to implement the MAP to signal support for the protocol and encourage additional mobile device manufacturers to add the capability in their products.
"It's only through acceptance of common standards industry-wide that key technologies can be adapted to the in-vehicle environment," said Schneider. "We're hoping to encourage the adoption of MAP so more customers – and more mobile devices – can successfully use the innovative features SYNC has to offer, helping reduce the problem of driver distraction."
According to a 100-car study conducted by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, driver inattention that involved looking away from the road for more than a few seconds was a factor in nearly 80 percent of accidents. By providing drivers with the ability to receive audible, hands-free texts, Ford is hoping to help drivers focus on the task of driving.
Ford is already working with Research In Motion (RIM) and supports the company's intention to begin implementing it in all new BlackBerry smartphones.
"RIM plans to implement MAP on BlackBerry smartphones moving forward and we are pleased to work with Ford in an effort to foster industry-wide adoption and standardization," said Andrew Bocking, Vice President, Handheld Software Product Management at Research In Motion.
"Do Not Disturb" and locked features
Ford has also proactively designed the MyFord and MyLincoln Touch driver connect system to give drivers more control of how they manage communications while in the car. Screens can be personalized to display information relevant to an individual driver using a simple button click, voice command or touch-screen tap.
The new 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX will be first to offer the "Do Not Disturb" button. This handy feature blocks incoming phone calls or text messages from a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone paired with SYNC; diverting calls into voicemail and saving text messages on the device for viewing later. But unlike turning the phone off, drivers can still make voice-activated outgoing phone calls, if they so decide, and the SYNC 911 Assist feature can make a call to 911 in case of emergency.
In addition, Ford continues to limit access to a variety of communication features while the vehicle is in motion, thus encouraging drivers to use voice commands if they wish to access the function.
Ford is also taking the proactive step of locking out or limiting content and capabilities of MyFord Touch that are not related to the task of driving when the vehicle is in motion, for instance:
Screens with information not intended to be used by the driver while driving such as point-of-interest reviews and ratings plus SIRIUS Travel Link sports scores, movie listings, and ski conditions
Any action that requires typing on a keypad (e.g. typing a navigation destination, editing information)
Limiting lists of navigation and phone choices that the user can view to fewer entries (e.g. phone contacts, recent phone call entries)
Specific functions that are locked out when the vehicle is in motion:
Cell Phone
Pairing a Bluetooth-capable phone
Manually adding individual contacts into the Phonebook
Viewing received text messages on screen
WiFi Connectivity
Web browsing on the vehicle screen
Video/Photos/Graphics
Playing video
Album cover art and Phonebook photo browsing
Editing photos
Editing the screen's wallpaper or adding a new one
Navigation
Destination entry by touchscreen keyboard input (voice entry is permissible)
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 176,000 employees and about 80 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010, and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
Ford FTW!
@mikesaar: Yep! Atleast they're trying new ideas and using tech to help everyone
@216
My Moms Flex has it, my girlfriend's Mustang has it. Almost makes me want to trade in my '07 Mustang. I felt SYNC was going to fail. Wow, I was very wrong.
@mikesaar
THIS IS A TERRIBLE SOLUTION. What if an emergency text comes in and it could effect your decisions at that moment?
NO, what Ford should do is make it so ALL OF THEIR CARS display text messages on the Nav/radio screens and then allows you to send a simple reply like SYNC already does when you have the Nav system.
@mikesaar
Worst looking dash EVER!
Reminds me of my 81 Prelude. Except, the Prelude's didn't suck.
@nuclearopts
If it's an emergency, wouldn't they call?
@mikesaar
LOL, SPEEDOMETER STUCK AT ZERO!
(like my caps lock key)
@JS Wouldn't zero be off?
@mikesaar FTW as in, Fucking Tax-money Waste? ;)
@mm
Oh yea, except they didn't take the tax relief. That's GM and Chrysler. Thanks bro.
@nuclearopts
You can choose not to use SYNC, your know? And if you happen to live somewhere where it's illegal to text while driving just argue with the PoPo just like you did here. They'll let you off because I'm sure texting while driving is protected in the Constitution.
@n00bz0rd 2 OMGLOL I B HRT. SHOT IN FCE. KAN U PIK ME UP.
My nexus one does this for me already with the VLingo app. I don't have to buy a Found On Roadside Dead to get cellphone feature.
@wraith404
I want to be just like you...
@wraith404 Take your pick between being dead along the road or accelerating out of control from a sticky pedal.
@wraith404
Wow, welcome to the 21st century but you should at least visit the 90's first.
@Wallyum The odds of getting a stuck accelerator wheel vs. the chances of being found dead on the road. Ill take my chances with the pedal, at least I can sell it later, and it still would be worth more.
I have to say I was pretty unsure about the sync concept, but I'm driving a car now that has it equipped and it's actually a fair amount more useful than I expected. More functionality is good news, too. Happy to see where this goes in the future.
Sync is really making me want to buy a Ford.
Way to go Ford, taking advantage of American Software Engineering.
@Vdek
Same here. I'm a VW/Audi fanboy but SYNC along with the newly designed 2012 Focus have pretty much got me to considering buying a Ford as my next vehicle -- something I never thought was even possible for myself.
@phobic99
Yeah, I've got an 07 Rabbit 2Door right now, and the 2012 focus is looking might nice.
@Vdek
Keep the Rabbit, it wont let you stranded on the side of the road, and the interiors are so much nicer.
@Vdek The new Golf is coming out with something very similar to Sync. If you're into VW, you might want to check it out, I think it is for the 2011 model year. Sync is very nice, though, worked very well with my iPod when I had rented a Taurus that had it.
@Vdek
Seriously. I love my 1990 300ce but the new fords are A) Gorgeous B) Efficient C) tempting.
I want nothing more than a 2011 Ford Fusion Sport (with AWD) and to swap in the turbos from the 2011 Taurus SHO (they share the same 3.5L EcoTec).
That car would rip my face off :D
My 2010 Focus has SYNC and it's fantastic.
The sooner that texting and indeed using a phone is banned whilst operatinf a moror vehicle the safer roads will be.
Most of Europe has this ban in place already and we have seen some truly dramatic results in accident reduction ststistics.
It is no humanly possible to use a phone and to devote full atttention to driving and that is downright dangerous. There can be no possible further argument. It is proven and drivers need to be prevented from using a phone (talking, texting, dialling, internet) whilst driving.
@rederikus
Just because the majority of idiots can't do it doesn't mean some people can't.
@rederikus
I can further argue. People don't need their full attention to drive. Billboards prevent people from placing full attention on driving too, but you just don't need full attention to drive. How many times while driving have you been lost in thought about a work project and find yourself at your destination before you know it? I think there were only two instances this morning when I even thought about driving. One was when a car was waiting for THE ENTIRE STREET to clear before attempting to parallel park, and the other was when I remembered I could watch a crosswalk counter instead of staring into the sun waiting for a light to change. Other than that, my driving app was strictly running in the background. I wasn't using a cell phone either ... What the crap was I thinking about? Ah well ...
@dantzig
It is a slippery slope. I'll give you a couple other common ones that are legal.
1. Listening/singing with the radio. People drift off into their own private concerts.
2. Eating while driving. One (or both) hand being occupied with a burger.
3. Talking with people in the car. How is a phone conversation on speaker phone any less distracting than chatting with someone in the passenger or backseat?
The reality is that if you want people totally focused on driving you would need to ban all of these other activities as well. Not going to happen. While I agree that texting is an awful idea while driving and that people should use BT, these steps alone won't make a huge dent in traffic accidents.
@bjsguess
While obviously you can't stop stupid people from doing stupid things in their cars and endangering other people on the road - that does not mean that we should be enabling people by building this kind of tech into cars. We should make illegal what we can (like DUI, texting, etc) and educate people as well as possible about the other things that we cannot enforce.
@dantzig
Despite what your intuition might tell you about safe driving habits, multiple studies have shown that even using a hands-free cell phone while driving decreases reaction time and driver judgement more than other activities such as talking with someone in the passenger seat and listening to the radio. Always use science when it is available rather than "what happened on my drive to work this morning". I think Ford should have to do studies showing this tech does not interfere with public safety before being allowed to put it in cars.
@shaynes
It does not matter how intelligent you are or, how many billboards you do or do not observe. It further does not matter if there are children in the car or not.
The fact remains (and IT IS A FACT) that using a cell phone detracts from your driving concentration ability.
Tests on a simulator in the UK over many months have shown a marked lowering in the ability to react quickly to emergency situations.
Subjects were asked to drive down an "average" freeway and just behave normally. Speed and distance were measured when the drivers (00s of them) were driving withut using the phone. When the phone (an incoming call) was introduced it was found that speeds varied considerably as drivers laggedand then speeded up to keep in traffic. Following distances therefore varied considerably.
In-town driving the resulats were similar but with more dangerous symptoms. Braking "think-times" were increased and when simple accident situations were introduced most phone users hit the obstacle whilst the same people who were NOT using a phone managed to avoid the accident.
People tested were from all walks of life. They used truck drivers, Moms, PhDs, racing drivers and regular folk as test subjects. The results were ALWAYS the same.
If you use a pphone, you CANNOT, as a human being, give full concentration to the task of driving in any given situation.
Now, I hate government interference in my life and I have several intersting words for traffic cops and the health and safety idiots. However I am convinced by the results of this research.
I use a bluetooth handsfree in my car and I still feel distracted when calls come in and I am driving.
I guess the future will make it as unacceptable to use a phone whilst driving as it is to use a car without wearing a seat belt.
For me a total ban on any kind cell phone use cannot come soon enough.
I live in the UK but lived 35 years in Europe but now I spend a good deal of my time in Charlotte, NC where the use of cell phones whilst driving is still legal and I have nearly been wiped off the road a couple of times by people who I could SEE were typing on phones.
Mind you SC does not even require the use of crash hats to drive a motorcycle. I guess this is a way of raising the States' overall intelligence.
@bjsguess
"How is a phone conversation on speaker phone any less distracting than chatting with someone in the passenger or backseat?"
When you talk to somebody in person, you enhance your verbage by your body language and facial expressions. This cannot be done over the telephone. It takes extra effort to express the meaning of your words to someone who isn't physically present. It has been proven in many studies that talking on a cellphone is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Texting while driving is even more stupid.
And... the iPhone?
@facucario The iPhone? That would be the phone some jerk was texting on while driving and slammed into a line of cars (including mine) that were stopped at a red light. The car behind me looked like an accordion after the accident. Great to text on a touch screen phone while driving.
@facucario My brother has a SYNC Focus and an iPhone. They work just fine with each other.
@larrysyr makes me not want to learn motorcycles =[
Innovation. Thank you.
Cant wait till this feature is brought to other car makers, I was about to buy a Ford because of this feature, and then I drove it. Realized it just wasn't worth getting the car just for the radio.
@rstoplabe14 That's alright, I'm not buying any car with it in, so I'll keep the balance.
This is not a solution to distracted driving, this is just another form of distraction. Having a text message read to you allows you to keep your eyes on the road, sure, but it's still breaking focus on driving. Downvote in 3... 2... 1...
@VIRGINA
Nope. +1 from me. You are right.
@VIRGINA I agree with you, but think this distraction is better than someone literally holding their phone instead of the steering wheel.
@VIRGINA
Why are you guys criticizing this, its an improvement over what we currently have. A vehicle's cabin will never have zero distractions, with kids, listening to music, or talk shows, big bill boards, changing the station, and the millions of distractions outside a vehicle, there is not way that distractions can be eliminated, just reduced. I think that getting a text read to you is not as distracting as a 5 year old screaming because we did not stop at the McD's, so do you want to eliminate kids from a car too? Keep in mind im not in favor of the texting and driving, I want to make that clear, its tha way that you criticize new technology to help reduce the magnitude of the distraction that pisses me off.
@VIRGINA
So you dont ever talk to your fellow passengers in your car? How is that different from you talking to or hearing your car speak?
For those who think it doesnt add much value, check out youtube for Lincoln C concept (EVA) videos.
@VIRGINA anything is distracting that is not the focus on the street itself. the radio should get forbidden. humans on the streetsides (esp attractive ones). advertisings. street signs.
the trick is to reduce the chance to not be able to react to prevent something bad. when listening to an sms you can react like when you don't listen to it. your eyes can focus on the street. your hands are on the wheel. those two things aren't true when holding a phone to read the sms (and reply, when a touchscreen only keyboard).
@rstoplabe14 I agree. My cell phone is no more distracting than talking to a passenger or screaming children. I think children and all other passengers should be required to be bound and gagged while the vehicle is in motion. :)
@KS I don't have to dial the people in my car. I don't have to press keys to text with them. I do not have to ever take my eyes off of the road for even one second to communicate with a person in my car. That's the difference.
@cpd5c45
ah, but you do. you don't have to, but you do take your eyes off the road to communicate with the people in your car. i hope, anyway ... otherwise i may be agitating a psychopath.
@dantzig Really? You stare at your passengers when you are talking to them while driving? Can you also walk and chew gum at the same time?
@cpd5c45
I don't have to dial to talk to people with sync. I press one steering wheel button (I know where its at, no need to look away from the road), and do everything with voice commands. Also, to read texts, it is just another button when one comes in to have it read to me. Now replying back, that would take some button presses, so you got me there (I don't reply when driving), but you could just press one button and have them on the phone as if they were in the car.