In October of 2009, Ford Motor Business, the University of Michigan and Intel created American Journey 2.0 – a competition to create Ford Apps. As a part of this partnership, the U of M created Cloud Computing within the Commute, a class focused on creating new social networking applications intended for use in Ford test vehicles. The winner of this competition class was Caravan Track – an application that could be used in the Ford Fiesta research vehicle.
Caravan Track
The winner of the “Cloud Computing in the Commute” course and competition is an application called Caravan Track. Caravan Track is a social network / internet / wifi application that helps members of a caravan keep track of one another. Caravan Track monitors the position, fuel level, road hazards and a lot more of all automobiles on a trip together. If the caravan is set to pass restaurants, rest areas, or points of interest, the Caravan Track app will inform them. Pre-programmed touchscreen messages also keep drivers from having to type when driving.
The other five Ford App competition competitors
There were six teams within the competition to create the best Ford American Journey 2.0 application. While Caravan Track won, the other applications still have the potential to be very useful. The GreenRide Challenge uses Facebook to match drivers and potential carpool passengers. NostraMap gives drivers advance notice of road hazards like construction or accidents. Fuel Tracker gives real-time feedback on fuel economy and mileage for a specific route. Point-of-Interest is built to “learn” a driver’s interests over time, and recommend companies and locations the driver might discover interesting. Called "Listen. Speak. Rate.Share.", a verbal-reviews application provides reviews and info about locations of interest – without all the reading or typing.
Ford Fiesta with Caravan Track
Along with other experimental and research projects, Caravan Track could be loaded onto a Ford Fiesta headed for Silicon Valley. On the way to the Maker Faire, this research Fiesta will attempt to report on the trip and use social networking to make the trip easier. It's sure that students at the U of M could be watching this trip very closely.
Sources:
Edmunds Blog
http://blogs.edmunds.com/strategies/2010/05/with-help-from-ford-students-create-the-future-of-in-car-cloud-computing.html
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