[LEFT]
American automotive giant is looking towards using the latest technology in finding out how they can make ‘smarter’ vehicles for the future. This is where they are going into cloud computing and analytics services provided by Google to find out ways to provide better fuel efficiency and optimal driveability in their future models.
[/LEFT]
This is where Google’s Prediction API comes into play where Ford is going to apply the application into their current research and analysis in predictive driver behaviour which has been going on for more than 2 years now. The API would be able to effectively use the information like the driver’s historical driving data like where and when and then convert them into real-time predictions. That means by evaluating where you have been and when, it will be able to predict where you are going to later.
Ryan McGee a technical expert in Ford Research and Innovation’s Vehicle Controls Architecture and Algorithm Design is upbeat about the collaboration and is confident that the integration of the API with Ford’s own research will propel them into creating a system which would eventually deliver better and optimal performance in their vehicles.
The whole concept is to allow the vehicle to determine a predicted route based on the past data which have been recorded previously. They will be showing how the technology could be applied when they present their conceptual case of the Google Prediction API in their plug-in hybrid vehicle. Basically, once the driver decides to apply this technology, a data usage profile will be built based on the routes and the time of travel. It generally records the information on the behaviour of the driver.
When the vehicle is started, the API will then evaluate the current time and day and its location and based on the past data and algorithm then predict the most likely destination that the driver is heading to as well as on how the driving performance could be optimized. This means that when you start the engine in the morning on a working day, the computer on-board the car might just ask you if you are heading to work. And when you reply ‘yes’ then it will work out the best way to get there and create an optimized powertrain control strategy to get you to the office.
