Ford and GM Open Car Software To Outside Developers

Dr Herbert West writes with news that General Motors and Ford have both used CES to announce a Software Development Kit for developers to create in-car apps. "Ford is focusing on three primary categories for apps: news and information, music and entertainment, and navigation and location. Marchwicki said the automaker will “instantly deny” apps that incorporate video, excessive text and gaming in a bid to reduce the risk of distracted driving. After developers have incorporated the Sync AppLink code into a proposed app, they submit it to Ford engineers for review. Ford will certify the app is bug-free and appropriate for automobiles. Once approved, Ford will work with the developer to provide a distribution license and get the app on the market." Similarly GM seeks infotainment apps that can be downloaded directly to the dashboard. "GM will provide developers with an SDK through an online portal that allows them to work with the automaker to design, test and deliver relevant automotive apps. GM also is including an HTML5 Java Script framework in its SDK."

Comments

Why not pause on shift out of park?

[tepples]

From the blurb: "Marchwicki said the automaker will 'instantly deny' apps that incorporate video, excessive text and gaming in a bid to reduce the risk of distracted driving." But why would they be denied even if they pause when the driver shifts out of park?

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Why do they bother?

The future car computer is an iPhone/Android dock.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because then people will put it into park at stop lights, play until the car behind them honks and immediately shift into gear and drive before looking up from the screen. It also ensures the culture of apps installed will be appropriate.

That said, this is AWESOME and, if these cars include decent sensors, like decent quality accelerometers and good GPS, we could get some kick-ass amateur racing (sanctioned, obviously, not street) apps.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

Fucking addict.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[goombah99]

Why do they bother?

The future car computer is an iPhone/Android dock.

Exactly. Cars last over a decade but that's a century in silicon-years. When I was shopping for used cars recently many of them boasted GPS maps built in, only they needed updating from non-existant dvd updates made for them. Pointless when my smart phone does a much better job and knows what the price of hotel, and hours places are open and where the coffees shops are. In a few years my smart phone will be google glass. The car cannot possibly keep up.

On the other hand I love my hands free voice activated phon calling that just piggybacks on the smart phones address book.

So what you need is a versatile interface definition to the smart phone that can use voice and video in the car but not supply any og the intelligence from the car. the car is just an input and out put device. these evolve less fast. consider the video screen, mouse and KB. not much has changed in decades.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

My mod points just ran out, so...
+1 insightful

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[robthebloke]

until you find yourself in your car without a charger, and then you find out just how quickly the battery run out when your iphone has the maps app, gpsm and 3g running.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Cryacin]

It's far cheaper to install a docking cradle for the phone in your car, than to update anything in the dashboard.

The GP's post about interfaces is great, but the real problem with interfaces is that an interface is longer lived than any implementation. Gaze down and look at your "cigarette lighter". I would be quite willing to bet that more people utilize the cigarette lighter interface to plug in their GPS, phone charger, et al, than light a cigarette.

Not to mention what happens when the latest and greatest device comes out, and they don't want to play nice with the interfaces. See anything Apple does.

And even if that doesn't occur, or there is a duct tape solution to integrate the doesn't play nice tech with the current technology, what happens if you have a technology like bluetooth, and it needs to be updated with the latest and greatest thing. All of your devices will need to bridge several things again.

So at the end of the day, take your phone, or stick on GPS into your car, unless if you're someone who thinks that cars should be recycled for scrap metal when the dashboard technology becomes obsolete. Auto manufacturers surely have wet dreams about this.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Car has an alternator. Right connector? No Fng problem.

Hell, hybrids have 4-6 alternators! Teslas have enough battery for a skyscraper full of iPhones.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[FatAlb3rt]

No kidding - open up OBD-II port, let me mount a small tablet in the middle of the dash, integrate steering wheel controls for sound and climate control ... we'll take car of the rest.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[slick7]

Why do they bother?

insert proximity switch here
insert detonation here
if proximity switch=0
then detonate

it's for the children otherwise the terrorists win.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[icebike]

until you find yourself in your car without a charger, and then you find out just how quickly the battery run out when your iphone has the maps app, gpsm and 3g running.

Worse, and far more often encountered is the great null zone (something you city folk never actually experience except in elevators) where there is no cell service or insufficient bandwidth, like Edge or GPRS) and you can't really use on-line maps. I use to think this only occurred in the boonies of the Western US, but driving around in Upstate New York off of freeways quickly disabused me of that notion.

A dedicated GPS, either built in or suction cupped on the dash is a far better solution.

What is needed is a bluetooth way to send an address to the damn thing directly from the phone. Why do they all forget this feature?

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would be quite willing to bet that more people utilize the cigarette lighter interface to plug in their GPS, phone charger, et al, than light a cigarette.

Automakers stopped calling that a cigarette lighter in the 90s.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[MeNeXT]

There is a null zone in every in car system I've seen so far. I have a 2012 model which has trouble with street names. It's not that it doesn't know the street name it's that I have to figure out how the programer spelled the name. When I can't even enter the address because the "great head unit" programers couldn't figure out "search" is just mind boggling. I feel I'm back with Alta VIsta or Yahoo. I pick up my phone and just speak the address and the thing just works.

My 2012 system can't even take a bridge. It will send me 25km out of the way. It crashes ever time I navigate over a bridge. Oh the maps work fine just can't navigate. Sorry, but I prefer a phone system that works than one where it depends on luck at least on a phone I can download a navigation app which comes with all the apps preloaded.

Other systems I tried were even worse... I got it with a package and I use the phone navigation more than the head unit.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[forkazoo]

Meh. I want to do less things to get where I'm going, not more. If I have to fiddle with docking my phoen every time I get in my car, that's really not a useability win. Plus, I have a bunch of strictly automotive apps installed on my phone that I don't need when I am away from the car. I think there is a good place for an open car computer system, running car specific apps.

For example, I think it would be a good idea to keep track of my mileage and how much I spend on gas. An in-car app can detect whenever I have put gas in the tank, and pop up a little dialog asking how much I just spent. I think that app should be able to sync with my phone or whatever, but It isn't something I would sensibly have any use for on my phone when I am away from the car.

Of course, I also think we should have autostereoscopic screens in the dash, and stereo backup cameras in the rear. So, my tolerance for built in gadgetry may be higher than others'.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[epp_b]

What is needed is good mapping software that actually allows you to download vectors, POIs, etc. for entire selected regions onto the SD card or internal memory.

Osmand technically does this, but it's slow, awkward and the data is incomplete.

Google has been talking about offering this for a while, but I have yet to see anything come to fruition.

Garmin, TomTom and the other usual suspects don't appear to be offering anything other than some lame "connect your smartphone to your GPS device and do pointless stuff" software, but that's not really surprising; a full-fledged, all-in-the-phone mapping and navigation software would cannibalize much their core business.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you make an interface for smart phones you also make one for any number of dedicated devices if that's what you want. No reason it has to be integrated permanently to the car. Imagine an android or iOS like device that allows adding apps or GPS. The only difference you probably won't have to spend $3000 for a computer made by Ford.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

Use Send To Car to send a destination from the Google Maps app on Android to a car nav system. The only caveat is you need a nav system that can connect to the internet to retrieve the destination, i.e. the phone sends the destination to the internet, then the car downloads the destination from the internet. It doesn't work through a bluetooth connection. That would be fantastic, but as you say why do they all forget this feature?

GM, Ford, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Hyundai and Nissan have a compatible system.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jvanier.android.sendtocar

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[grrrl]

If you live where there's no reception then just buy the TomTom app for iPhone. A dedicated GPS isn't anything special.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[grrrl]

Ironically my 1982 car with tape player is more compatible with the latest smartphone than my 1999 car with CD-player with no auxiliary inputs.

At least both of them have standard sized head units that can be changed. There was a period (maybe 2004-2009) where custom head units were all the rage, but they largely lacked iPod or even aux inputs, bluetooth, even mp3 support and they can't be easily updated today. Totally whacko.

Totally agree the car of the future docks your smartphone and off you go. Possibly docks two, if your passenger wants to put their music on ;D

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

> What is needed is a bluetooth way to send an address to the damn thing directly from the phone. Why do they all forget this feature?

The (useless) navigation system in my car supports beaming addresses and contacts to it via IR from your Palm Pilot. No joke,

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a lot of aftermarket in-dash DVD players that will refuse to play if the car isn't parked.

The common response to this is to disconnect (or short) the cable that lets it know whether it's parked or not. The end.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Nexus7]

You mean like this?
      www.ebay.com/itm/7-2-In-Dash-Car-DVD-Radio-Stereo-WiFi-3G-GPS-TV-Android-2-3-Tablet-USA-SELLER-/300842135453?pt=US_Video_In_Dash_Units_w_GPS&hash=item460b96af9d

There's actually a newer and nicer-looking version of this, but I can't locate it ATM.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

'Zactly! This should be manufacturer's standard.

When the iOS version shows, I'm in.

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why'd ya pull yer resume off LinkedIn Jeremiah Cornelius -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3368135&cid=42529887 Is it since someone spotted you're not only a "San Fran 'Man'" (a fella is more like it) and that you can't even spell what you allegedly used to do for a job? It's correctly spelled PENETRATION, not "pentration" as you misspelled it there in front of 1,000's no doubt (one would think an anal penetration man from San Fran'd know how THAT is spelled at least, lol). Jeremiah Cornelius likes to troll others -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2238996&cid=36457426 , but can't handle it when it's done in return showing he is illiterate, and that much is obvious. You fail troll. How many years did you leave your resume up there with that basic literacy fail on it? Yes you have been trolled. You like? I wager you don't since you removed your faulty resume (on the very thing you took pride in that you can't even spell correctly most likely indicating you weren't any good at it either).

Re:Why not pause on shift out of park?

[Anonymous Coward]

You avoid a direct question: Why'd ya pull yer resume off LinkedIn Jeremiah Cornelius -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3368135&cid=42529887 Is it since someone spotted you're not only a "San Fran 'Man'" (a fella is more like it) and that you can't even spell what you allegedly used to do for a job? It's correctly spelled PENETRATION, not "pentration" as you misspelled it there in front of 1,000's no doubt (one would think an anal penetration man from San Fran'd know how THAT is spelled at least, lol). Jeremiah Cornelius likes to troll others -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2238996&cid=36457426 , but he can't handle it when it's done in return showing he is illiterate, and that much is obvious. You fail troll. How many years did you leave your resume up there with that basic literacy fail on it? Yes you have been trolled. You like? I wager you don't since you removed your faulty resume (on the very thing you took pride in that you can't even spell correctly most likely indicating you weren't any good at it either).

Dr. Herbert West?

[morari]

I refuse to trust anything he writes in about. After the incident at Miskatonic University, he should have had his medical license revoked!

Re:Dr. Herbert West?

[Anonymous Coward]

That incident had nothing to do with writing, things just got ahead of him.

Re:Dr. Herbert West?

[Anonymous Coward]

You take the word of a talking head over Dr. West? What, do you work in a sideshow or something?

You almost had me for a moment there.

[John Hasler]

I thought maybe they were opening up the software that actually matters. No real chance of that, though.

Re:You almost had me for a moment there.

[mirix]

Yeah, the title made me think they were releasing the source for the ECUs, not lame ass infotainment stuff.

Re:You almost had me for a moment there.

[Fishead]

Yeah, maybe first program the transmission not to SUCK, eh Ford?

We had a 2011 F350 work truck that was almost comical (comical because in no way would we be financially responsible when it broke!)

Sometimes when accelerating hard (pulling onto the highway from a stop) it would stick between gears and kill the throttle for 2 seconds, then shift into gear.

Twice it revved up real high, then slammed itself into gear (pretty sure the wheels left the ground)

If you held the gas pedal just right it would stay in second gear right up to 110km/h. Well into red-line on the tacometer.

We took it into Ford for a weekend. They returned it and said that they cleared the setpoints and that we should drive it gently for the next few hundred Kms until the transmission has a chance to "learn" new shiftpoints.

All that work on a "smart" transmission and it still wouldn't get better than 21 liters per 100km.

Yeah... I won't be buying a new Ford, thanks.

Re:You almost had me for a moment there.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not even no REAL chance; no chance whatsoever. The EPA would shut that down faster than you could blink, and Ford doesn't exactly want to enable consumers to destroy the engine with a few keystrokes.

Ford and GM Open Car Software To

[mill3d]

Malware developers...

So when you jailbreak your entertainment center...

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you void the car warranty in the process, like phones?

Note, that it's based on _Microsoft_ SYNC

[Cyberax]

I had rented several cars with Microsoft SYNC and in _each_ case I had some kind of problem with it. Starting from losing Bluetooth connectivity (completely, until I reseted the computer by pulling a fuse) to suddenly setting volume to max and switching to AM radio while I was driving 65mph on a highway.

And now they're trying to add additional crapware to the already buggy system?

Re:Note, that it's based on _Microsoft_ SYNC

[jackb_guppy]

I been watching the button less ads of Caddie. All I can think if texting and using a phone in a car is bad... just using the car is getting worse. When will the auto makers start to be sued for their broken by design in-dash smart systems?

Re:Note, that it's based on _Microsoft_ SYNC

[MeNeXT]

At least the phones are getting it. Texting on the phone in the car is now hands free when you just speak to it I just haven't found a good one that voices the incoming texts...

Re:Note, that it's based on _Microsoft_ SYNC

[Anonymous Coward]

I hear you! I've owned a Ford with SYNC for 2 years and almost every day it misbehaves in a totally new and unexpected way! I installed a switch inline with the SYNC fuse so I can reboot the Microsoft box when it goes totally insane...

Re:Note, that it's based on _Microsoft_ SYNC

[bjwest]

If you're talking out loud, why not just call the other person? Or, you know, think of the other people on the road and wait until you're not in the car fucking driving somewhere?

how to monetize?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone know how to monetize Ford apps?

step 1, they approve it.

step 2= ?????

Do they give me a key or such?

Help eliminate stupid speeding tickets"

Re:how to monetize?

[cellurl]

forgot my login.
Anyone know how to monetize Ford apps?
step 1, they approve it.
step 2= ?????
Do they give me a key or such?
Help eliminate stupid speeding tickets"

Re:how to monetize?

[Anonymous Coward]

logged back out. cuz I'm cool like that.
Anyone know how to monetize Ford apps?
step 1, they approve it.
step 2= ?????
Do they give me a key or such?
Help eliminate stupid speeding tickets"

Bug-free. Right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ford will certify the app is bug-free...

No software is ever bug free except maybe a simple first "Hello, World" program. Even then some people can screw it up.

Re:Bug-free. Right.

[TheCarp]

Clearly not true... lack of documentation is a bug. When is the last time you saw someone accompany it with a proper man page?

Recurring fees

[tepples]

Pointless when my smart phone does a much better job

That'd work for people who already have a smart phone. But how much do you pay per year for service on your smart phone?

Re:Recurring fees

[jonbryce]

Who doesn't have a smartphone these days? Blackberry has the budget phone market sewn up, everyone else has an Android or iPhone. I pay £15.32 per month for my smartphone service.

Re:Recurring fees

[Anonymous Coward]

For the maps and navigation service? $0 as long as I download maps on wi-fi (and it's a Nokia N9, so I just have it keep the entire USA map up to date, but my understanding is iOS and Android can also pre-download maps and do navigation using them).

Re:Recurring fees

[tepples]

So how can I get me the kind of phone you have? For some reason I can't find USA or Canada on Nokia's page for N9 availability.

Re:Recurring fees

[sjbe]

That'd work for people who already have a smart phone. But how much do you pay per year for service on your smart phone?

If you have a screen in your car odds are pretty high you have a smart phone too. The nav system in my truck cost about $3000 as an option. My smartphone data plan is covered for 4 years for the same price. If you can't afford a smart phone chances are extremely high you aren't worried about having a screen in your car.

Re:Recurring fees

[Mike Frett]

Who doesn't? On a quick count I know 22 people including myself that lack possession of a Smart Phone. I Don't want or need one either, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

Re:Recurring fees

[SleazyRidr]

Bear in mind that we are talking about new cars.

Important to note Ford is also pushing OpenXC

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure the semi-open (I use that term loosely) app platform is great, but... check this out!

http://openxcplatform.com/

Ford has github repositories and working examples. I am truly impressed. This is the most open I've seen them and I've been pushing for years.

Re:Important to note Ford is also pushing OpenXC

[Anonymous Coward]

The SDK agreement is nuts. They want you to agree to NOT distribute any apps without their say-so *AND* they reserve the right to re-do your app idea and compete with you directly.

In other words, you get to be their (unpaid?!) R&D.

Touch Screen Interfaces on Cars

[Anonymous Coward]

Anything that requires the driver's eyes to leave the road sucks.

Bird-A-Matic

[Tablizer]

I always wanted an auto-finger so I don't have to roll down the window in the winter.

In the Year of our Ford

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like something that would make George Orwell smile in his grave.

I Know, Right?

[Anonymous Coward]

An LED crawler across the back window so I can give them the bird or stick out my tongue, or messages like "Brake check in 5... 4... 1!"

CDMA2000; dollars vs. pounds

[tepples]

Who doesn't have a smartphone these days?

Anyone on the least expensive plans from Virgin Mobile USA. CDMA2000 phones in the United States don't use a removable CSIM; instead, they use a subscriber identity programmed directly into the phone. (Some of Verizon's CDMA2000/LTE phones use a combo CSIM/USIM, but Virgin is part of Sprint.) So each handset has to be activated as a separate line, and the cheapest plan for a smartphone ($35/mo) is seven times as expensive per month as the cheapest plan for an occasional-use dumbphone ($5/mo).

I pay £15.32 per month for my smartphone service.

Smartphone service is more expensive in countries that use $ (USD/CAD) than in countries that use £ (GBP).

Re:CDMA2000; dollars vs. pounds

[eriks]

Try pageplus. They resell verizon. I have an old off-contract droid x that I keep activated as a cell phone for under $4/month. It's connected to wifi most of the time, so I hardly ever use the tiny amount of voice/data that I get for that price. It works perfectly as an occasional use cell phone, but full time pocket computer.

I used to have a tracfone, but pageplus makes it *cheaper* to have an android phone. I dunno how they do it, but I don't care as long as they stay in business.

It's true though, actual "smartphone" plans from all the major providers are at least $30/month, and more like $75/month if you use a lot of mobile bandwidth.

Login already broken

[AuMatar]

It isn't even allowing me to register. Too bad- I have an app that automatically sends text messages to voice input/output mode when driving that would be MUCH nicer if it could interface with the car's speed detection than my rough estimates (for those interested, Text Soundly on the Google Play store). Not going to happen if I can't even download the SDK.

Ford will certify the app is bug-free?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sync bugs have been a thorn in our side for 5 years. Now adding 3rd party bugs too?
Gimme a Siri button and I'm happy.

I shall wait

[fisted]

for an open source car then.

What OS does GM run?

[WindBourne]

Around Xmas, my wife got into a car crash because a 17 y.o. girl decided to pass in a no-passing zone and lost control in the snow. So, we have had a rental while her car gets fixed. The rental is a ford with Sync. That is a PURE POS. I have been SO unimpressed by it. Esp. since I have spent a bit of time playing with the model S and seen that it is superior to Ford's junk.

However, I am curios what OS GM is running. That might be worth while developing for (like the tesla).

Re:What OS does GM run?

[Anonymous Coward]

Probably QNX...

http://crackberry.com/new-html5-sdk-qnx-bridges-gap-between-app-developers-and-automakers

Re:What OS does GM run?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it runs QNX...

http://crackberry.com/new-html5-sdk-qnx-bridges-gap-between-app-developers-and-automakers

I want software control of the car's horn!

[Nefarious Wheel]

Just think -- if you could hack into a network of cars and knew which cars played which musical notes, you could play merry havoc during gridlock by playing an orchestra of selected traffic. You'd be in control! Bieber for road rage, Star Wars theme at the red lights, a nice tango for the cloverleaf intersections -- the mind boggles!

Android lets you do an end run around SYNC

[Miamicanes]

I have a 2008 SportTrac with Ford's first-generation (AFAIK) SYNC. It's kind of nice, but OMG it gets paternalistic and annoying sometimes. They've been talking about releasing a SDK for Sync since... late 2008. I'll believe they're ever going to allow thirdparty apps when I personally see it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to using my nice, rooted Android phone with a native app I'm working on that fools SYNC into thinking the fake bluetooth media player it's spoofing isn't actually a custom interface for Sync'ified Android apps that recognize track up/down and 'ok' as command buttons their own right -- completely bypassing SYNC and its annoying restrictions, and using it as little more than a handy embedded bluetooth audio + control interface for my phone.

Re:Android lets you do an end run around SYNC

[Anonymous Coward]

I cannot wait until someone does that, it would also be nice to bypass the SYNC Voice command button and lure it to use the Android one...

What could possibly go wrong?

[dutchwhizzman]

Sure, car makers should go into their own app store business, since they totally know how to do that. Those people at Google, Apple and MicroSoft don't have a clue when it comes to IT so they owe it to themselves to see their devices jail broken and all sorts of stuff installed on them.

That's great!

[Anonymous Coward]

The ransomware of the future will actually be able to KILL you! Genius!

Seriously, the Android app store is already malware infested. What part of "allow code we didn't write to run on a system that can actually control the safety functions of a car" seemed like a good idea?

Oh, right. The "we can charge a few bucks for it" part. Silly me.

Does this mean...

[Spugglefink]

Does this mean I can rewrite the absolutely wretched media player interface? Ford's SYNC is a whole lot of meh, why bother as it comes out of the box. There's almost not one single useful thing about any of it, and I'd love to be able to hack on it and try to make something useful out of it. Otherwise I just have a lot of useless buttons on my steering wheel and my dashboard.

Not all new car buyers carry smartphones

[tepples]

My adoptive mother bought a new Ford Focus within the past year but still carries a dumbphone. Does that make her an edge case?

Re:Not all new car buyers carry smartphones

[SleazyRidr]

Yes. New cars are quite expensive purchases and are usually done by people with relatively high disposable incomes. There exist people like your adoptive mother who (I assume) don't see the need to carry a computer with them every where they go. For the most part they probably don't care about the toys on a new car either and are more interested in the reliability aspect.

The statistics speak for themselves, most people with enough disposable income (and quite a few who can't really afford it) have smart phones.

Copyright Issues with Trollers

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder how compatible will applications developed using this software with other cars or are developers going to be faced with the problem or developing products then being forced to sell to GM/Ford at their own price? I read an interesting article on www.academicpapers.us about Microsoft's patent trolling issues with Android-based smartphones. The company is making billions off the back of companies such as Samsung, whose only mistake was to use an opn-sourced OS!

JavaScript?

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, I know we're all about fuel economy, but javascript in cars?

They ARE trying to slow us down!