Ford and Amazon seek closer link between car and home
Both Amazon and Ford want to allow consumers to have greater control over their homes from their vehicles. And more control over their vehicles from their homes.
The automaker is planning to connect Amazon voice technology like Alexa and Echo to vehicles equipped with Ford’s SYNC Connect system. The connection would allow motorists to control elements of their home through voice commands spoken to their car.
Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ford executive director of connected vehicle services Don Butler said consumers are seeking easier connectivity between their vehicles and their homes.
“Connecting homes and cars is all about making life easier and convenient for our customers,’’ said Butler. “As smart homes and smart cars continue to evolve, SYNC technology makes it easy to implement features that will make life better and more convenient for our customers.’’
Ford says there are currently over 15 million vehicles equipped with the company’s SYNC technology on the road worldwide. The automaker expects that number to swell to 43 million by 2020.
Ford is seeking to integrate its vehicles with Amazon’s cloud-based voice service Alexa to allow consumers to connect to their vehicles from within their homes (and vice versa) through Amazon’s wireless, voice-command speaker Echo.
For example, a motorist driving a Ford vehicle could use voice recognition technology to turn a home’s lights on, open a garage door, or adjust the thermostat ahead of arrival.
By speaking to an Echo device from inside a home, Ford owners can tell their vehicles to start or stop, check their fuel range or charge status, or give the vehicle a scheduled start time.
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Drivers would also have access to Alexa’s other features such as requesting information from other connected devices. For example, drivers could ask Alexa if the home’s garage door is open, to check the home’s security system, weather reports, or to check upcoming appointments.
Ford also announced it is working with Wink, a smart home platform that connects multiple smart home devices from several companies. Ford motorists could use Wink and Ford’s SYNC AppLink system to perform similar voice commands.
“Consumers increasingly want to stay connected to their homes while on the move,’’ said Butler. “Linking smart devices like Amazon Echo and Wink to vehicles with SYNC would fulfill that desire and allow consumers to connect with their vehicles even when they aren’t behind the wheel.’’
The news from Ford and Amazon follows a pattern of automakers partnering with larger technology companies. Earlier this week, GM announced it was entering a $500 million partnership with Lyft to build self-driving, on-demand vehicles.
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