DeviceGuru

Ford claims that its American Journey 2.0 research project culminated in the world’s first social media-connected road trip. Along the way from Ann Arbor, Mich. to the Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif, Ford engineers and University of Michigan (U-M) students demonstrated the “first-ever auto-centric cloud-based apps,” claims the automaker.

The trip involved two Ford Fiestas, linked to each other “and to the entire global community in ways that mark a new era in mobile connectivity,” says Ford.

A Ford-developed app (“Auto”matic Blog) enabled one of the Fiestas (designated “@AJtheFiesta” on Twitter) to periodically tweet its interpretation of the journey based on vehicle telemetrics. Another app automatically checked-in the team via Foursquare at stops and points-of-interest.

In the second Fiesta, the U-M computer science students used Caravan Track, an app they developed as part of a 12-week course called Cloud Computing in the Commute. Ford says it initiated the course to challenge students to develop social networking personal transportation apps. Caravan Track was selected from among six creative apps presented at the conclusion of the course, winning the students the trip to California along with Ford’s engineers.

The ultimate mobile device?

“The car is the ultimate mobile device,” suggests Venkatesh Prasad, technical leader of Ford’s infotronics team. “Ford has led the convergence of the auto and consumer electronics industries, and now we’re researching how to responsibly and safely harness the Internet to enhance drivers’ time behind the wheel.”

“We believe this is the first time vehicles [have been] socially connected through the Internet during a cross-country trip,” said TJ Giuli, Ford research engineer. “All the apps — from Caravan Track to the Virtual Road Rally, and particularly the notion of the car automatically posting its mood and location — really explore new boundaries in the use of digital tools to expand social links.”

Student-developed apps

Here’s a list of applications developed by the U-M students. Click the name of each app for more info:

• Caravan Track — The software allows clusters of vehicles traveling together to track each other along the journey. After identifying a route on a main website, users can join to see fellow travelers; view vehicle telemetry including fuel level and speed; track each vehicle; map routes; send alerts about stops along the way; and send text notifications about road conditions and hazards via a multiple choice interface that eliminates the need to type.

• Fuel Tracker — provides drivers with real-time feedback about fuel economy and driving habits based on past drivers on a specific route. App users upload their results for different road segments, allowing users to compare details, compete for top fuel economy and share suggestions for improving mileage along specific routes.

• The GreenRide Challenge — provides a collaborative ride-sharing system, attempting to connect drivers with potential carpool passengers in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The app is connected through Facebook, matching friends who need rides with destinations entered by the driver – and also allowing the driver to invite friends to ride. Points would be awarded for ride-sharing, providing for a possible sponsored reward component.

• Listen. Speak. Rate. Share. — provides users in-car audio reviews for various points of interest, and also allows drivers to share their thoughts on visited locations, connecting through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular social media sites

• NostraMap — collects data about road and traffic conditions, giving drivers advance notice about accidents, construction, poor surfaces and other hazards. The app relies on crowd-sourcing: When a user encounters a situation, he or she draws a single character on the map display (A for accident, C for construction, etc.), which is then updated for all users to see.

• Points-of-Interest — uses a dynamic recommendation system to point drivers toward locations and businesses that match their interests but that they may not have otherwise visited. The system uses a complex algorithm to learn a driver’s tastes and interests over time, allowing it to provide more tailored recommendations and learn the tastes of users with similar interests.

Ford-developed apps

Ford provided the following description the apps developed by its engineering team:

• Virtual Road Rally — allows users to define points-of-interest (POIs) or physical landmarks, similar to those found in a road rally. The app can take the form of a “treasure hunt,” revealing information about various POIs as drivers reach them. It can also serve as a competitive drive app, allowing users to post various parameters for a specific drive. For example, a user could post the amount of fuel they used driving from A to B, and challengers would attempt to best that mileage. The app uses a Web-based component to allow users to upload rally points and challenge parameters, as well as post their individual results. Road Rally users could also create rallies focusing on their own towns, allowing drivers who may never have visited a particular place to learn more about landmarks and POIs. Such a feature would let drivers share their favorite drives and provide small towns and “off the beaten path” locations a new way to attract visitors to unique places.

• “Auto”matic Blog — attempts to elevate the car to its rightful standing as an equal member of the team, providing it with a personality and way to communicate its mood. The car itself, dubbed @AJtheFiesta, automatically blogs or tweets statements about the journey based on information it gathers from various vehicle data sensors or engine computer codes. “For example, if one assumes that a happy car is one that’s zipping along an open road or negotiating tight curves,” explains Giuli, “the powertrain sensors — engine rpm, speed, steering inputs, g-loads, that sort of thing – can indicate to the car that it’s in one of those fun situations, and the car can then indicate that with a tweet or blog post. Similarly, if it’s at zero mph with the wipers on, the car might decide it’s sitting in traffic in the rain and send a sad tweet. Either way, we wanted to allow the car to become a blogger.” AJ is also able to indicate via GPS trace the roads on which it’s driving when it feels certain ways, and the system also allows it to take a photo to show other drivers – and perhaps, someday, other cars — the conditions that trigger its opinions.

• Local Search — uses a built-in social media component via the social networking app Foursquare. Each time the vehicle makes a stop, it checks in with Foursquare to identify the location, and it can also search for nearby restaurants, gas stations and parks.

The road trip was the result of a year-long Ford initiative called American Journey 2.0, a joint open innovation research project, supported by Microsoft and Intel, that offered a group of U-M students a chance to define the future in-car experience. Ford says it sponsored the program in order to “excite potential customers while showing tangible proof of the company’s commitment to leading the convergence of the automobile and Internet through open innovation.”

An interesting article about this initiative recently appeared in The New York Times, here.