Toyota has agreed to work with Ford, in a cooperative move between major car manufacturers that probably heralds the beginning of the end times, to explore a collaboration with Livio, a Ford subsidiary, for the implementation of the Dearborn, Michigan giant’s SmartDeviceLink (SDL) technology in future Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
“We continue to investigate new technologies that both enhance and safeguard the driving experience of Toyota and Lexus owners,” said Shigeki Terashi, Senior Managing Officer, Toyota Motor Corporation. “The in-car app market is quickly evolving. Developing robust, flexible, safe and user-friendly connected services is a priority for us, and one that we believe is shared by Ford, Livio and other contributors to SDL technology.”
SDL is an open source platform created to help make automotive smartphone applications for collecting entertainment, traffic, parking and other data from the Internet for use in in-car infotainment systems. Ford created SmartDeviceLink by contributing its proprietary AppLink software to the open-source community. The goal was to help encourage growth in the automotive app developer community and provide automakers a way to create connectivity and navigation systems that deliver on customers’ expectations. SDL software allows access to in-vehicle controls including display screens, buttons and the voice recognition engine.
“Dashboard interface design and smartphone connectivity are key elements for product differentiation within the industry,” said Don Butler, Executive Director of Connected Vehicle and Services, Ford. “At Ford, we view all aspects of time behind the wheel as core to the experience we provide customers. We’re pleased other members of the industry feel the same way, and look forward to working together to drive even more support for the SDL developer community.”
Image via Pixabay Toyota engineering is actively engaging with the SDL project, and investigating further collaboration with Livio and Ford. Livio, a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Ford Motor Company, is the project maintainer of SmartDeviceLink technology, which can be found at www.genivi.org or www.github.com/smartdevicelink .
This kind of collaboration and sharing of open software is shaping up to be the forefront of IoT technology, not just in the connected transportation space, but throughout the industry. For a much deeper dive into how open source it influencing the IoT, join us at IoT Evolution Expo August 17 to 10 at Caesars in Las Vegas.
Edited by
Dominick Sorrentino
