As Ford opens the doors of its new Research and Innovation Center (RIC) in Palo Alto, it is giving us one of the largest automotive research teams in Silicon Valley. At the opening event, Ford offered a sneak peek at some of its cutting-edge research. I thought you’d be interested in learning more about two projects:
Ford’s Remote Repositioning experiment: The Palo Alto team is testing the ability to drive vehicles located on Georgia Institute of Technology’s campus in Atlanta from the Bay Area. A person sitting in the Palo Alto laboratory can access real-time video streamed over 4G/LTE technology to drive golf carts thousands of miles away. This could help lead to more affordable and effective ways to manage car-sharing initiatives or park vehicles remotely.
Nest Research Partnership: Ford is collaborating with Nest to use the car as an additional node of data, providing an important cue for the Nest Thermostat to switch to “Away Mode,” reducing energy use automatically when homeowners leave.
