DailyTech - Ford Officially Opens New Silicon Valley Lab for Consumer Technology

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Auto Ford Officially Opens New Silicon Valley Lab for Consumer Technology
Tiffany Kaiser - June 19, 2012 10:45 AM

9 comment(s) - last by 91TTZ.. on Jun 21 at 2:46 PM

(Source: aecdn.com)

Ford said it is looking to connect with many of its established technology-related relationships in the Bay Area

Ford announced the opening of its Silicon Valley Lab (SVL) today, where the automaker hopes to focus on creative technology for its vehicles.

The idea behind Ford's SVL is to provide a creative hub for consumer technology which can be used in the automaker's cars and trucks. It was strategically placed in Silicon Valley in order to draw in the large tech community in this area.

"We have been innovating for more than a century at Ford, but we acknowledge we don't have a monopoly on creativity," said Bill Ford, Ford executive chairman. "Our new office will complement our existing research efforts by allowing us to tap into the region that has been driving consumer technology forward in recent decades."

There are three main ideas that the SVL will focus on: Big data, which is essential for product design, marketing and decision-making; open-source innovation, for new and customized hardware and software applications, and user experience, which aims to offer information and services to the driver for a whole new way to interact with the Ford vehicle.

“As new ways of processing, curating and filtering information are conceived, the possibilities for enhancing personal mobility are virtually limitless,” said Venkatesh Prasad, general manager of the new lab and senior technical leader of open innovation. “With many of the finest forward-thinking minds in the world located in the San Francisco Bay region, the Ford Silicon Valley Lab is ideally positioned to interact with and forge connections to local innovators and grow the relationships with our current partners.”

Ford said it is looking to connect with many of its established technology-related relationships in the Bay Area, but also work as an independent lab for new innovation. Ford made it clear that this new lab will not replace or duplicate work from the automaker's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Michigan, its technology office in Nanjing, China or its European facility in Aachen, Germany. Rather, the Silicon Valley version will focus on independent technology projects and the development of partnerships with surrounding companies like Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.

Source: Ford

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Just focus on the core product

By 91TTZ on 6/19/2012 1:12:51 PM , Rating: 1

Instead of cramming more and more distractions into the vehicle, why don't they focus more on the basics, like handling or fuel economy?

Also, many of these new cars are ugly as crap. Why don't they spend more effort making the cars attractive?

I like my Mazda Protege, I think it looks nice. Even the older Mazda 3's looked nice. But the newer Mazdas look queer as hell, like a smiling Pokemon.

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/051/1/6/201...

That ugliness alone stops me from ever buying that vehicle.

RE: Just focus on the core product

By Shadowmage on 6/19/2012 1:21:45 PM , Rating: 2

Nice job being a bigot right there.

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RE: Just focus on the core product

By Reclaimer77 on 6/19/2012 1:42:48 PM , Rating: 2

queer[kweer]

1.
strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular: a queer notion of justice.

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RE: Just focus on the core product

By Apone on 6/19/2012 3:30:30 PM , Rating: 2

@ 91TTZ

- I guess the Protege was so stylish and nice-looking that Mazda decided to discontinue it in 2002 huh?

- Please do your homework, you'll see many of these "ugly" cars that you speak of by GM and Ford are actually attractive. Case in point, the new 2012 Ford Focus' interior and exterior design is derived from Ford Europe and has been a smash hit here in the States since arriving.

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RE: Just focus on the core product

By 91TTZ on 6/21/2012 2:46:11 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
- I guess the Protege was so stylish and nice-looking that Mazda decided to discontinue it in 2002 huh?

It wasn't discontinued, they just changed its name. The same line of cars has gone by different names in different places at different times.

In the early 80's it was the Mazda GLC, then they changed the name to the Mazda 323. Then they changed the name to Protege. Would you say that the US Mazda 323 was discontinued or just had its name changed? Because you could still buy the same car, just with a different name. To make matters worse, if you opted for the hatchback version of the Protege it was still called the 323. Then all versions became the Protege in the US, but in Europe it continued to be the 323. Meanwhile in Japan it had stayed the Familia since 1964. Now finally in 2004 they renamed the Mazda 323 the Mazda 3, and the 626 became the Mazda 6.

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Seriously Bill?

By Apone on 6/19/12, Rating: 0

RE: Seriously Bill?

By kleinma on 6/19/2012 12:36:10 PM , Rating: 2

So a company does not innovate if it has competition that also does well in the same field?

Tell that to Microsoft, Apple, and Google.

Toyota innovated by making your gas pedal work without having to even press it, and nissan innovated by creating an electric car that you can't restart. Honda innovated by putting lawnmower engines into cars. Not sure how you benchmark that.

And no I don't drive a Ford, but your comments are baseless.

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RE: Seriously Bill?

By Apone on 6/19/2012 3:25:29 PM , Rating: 2

@ kleinma

- To answer your question, no a company like Ford and GM did not innovate back in the day because if you do your homework on the big 3 domestic automakers, you'll learn that these companies were traditional (if it ain't broke don't fix it) and hired "yes" men to run their businesses; they adopted an incorrect strategy of "let supply fuel demand" which they eventually learned from successful Toyota's "let demand fuel supply" strategy. Only now they're pushing innovation since emerging from their wakeup call (aka bankruptcy)...

Do you honestly think that Nissan, Toyota, and Honda rose to popularity in the 80's and 90's because U.S. consumers were preferring reliable and stylish American brands? Oh wait...

- And please re-read my original post, what I said was that "things are different now"; in other words, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have since caught up to Honda, Toyota, and Nissan.

- Baseless? Puh-lease, I've been a car guy since I was a kid growing up in the 80's and I've noticed all the technologies incorporated into the new Cruze, Focus, etc. are inspired from either European or Japanese brands like variable valve timing, direct injection, multi-cam technology, diesel propulsion, and 6-to-8 speed automatic transmissions.

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Redmond surrounds the Bay area?

By lortsie on 6/19/2012 11:28:14 AM , Rating: 2

I know that some people that don't live out west think its all clumped together, but Redmond is probably 900 miles from the Silicon Valley, lol.

Interesting though. Not a fan of Ford, but the latest Sync system is pretty cool.