Ford and Toyota Establish Consortium for Standard In-Vehicle Apps
Ford and Toyota are establishing SmartDeviceLink Consortium, a nonprofit to manage open source software for smartphone app development for vehicle.
Members include automakers Mazda Motor Corporation, PSA Group, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI) and Suzuki Motor Corporation, as well as suppliers Elektrobit, Luxoft, and Xevo.
According to the group, the consortium is focused on “significantly increasing choice for consumers in how they connect and control their smartphone apps on the road.”
“Encouraging innovation is at the center of Ford’s decision to create SmartDeviceLink, and this consortium is a major step toward that goal,” said Doug VanDagens, global director, Ford Connected Vehicle and Services, and a board member of the consortium. “Consumers will win with new, innovative app experiences from increased collaboration and developer engagement.”
SmartDeviceLink enables smartphone app developers to seamlessly integrate their app functions with in-vehicle technology such as the vehicle display screen, steering wheel controls and voice recognition. With this new level of integration, drivers enjoy their favorite apps on the road in an enhanced, user-friendly way.
Industry-wide adoption of SmartDeviceLink is expected to give app developers broad scale usage as their innovations could be applied to millions of vehicles worldwide.
Category: Consumer, Telematics
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