Some manufacturer collaboration news. Toyota Motor Corporation is adopting SmartDeviceLink, Ford’s open-source smartphone app interface software. Aside from this major tie-up, automotive suppliers QNX Software Systems and UIEvolution are also adopting the technology, with plans to integrate it into their products.
Automakers PSA Peugeot Citroën, Honda, Subaru and Mazda are also investigating Ford's SmartDevice Link software standard. This system is like Ford's SYNC® AppLink™ on Ford vehicles, SmartDeviceLink on non-Ford vehicles allows Spotify, Glympse, iHeartRadio and other smartphone apps to be easily accessed by drivers through the car's infotainment system using voice recognition and dashboard controls
Could this be the new universal standard device link in all future vehicles?
PRESS RELEASE
Toyota Adopts Ford SmartDeviceLink Software; Other Automakers, Suppliers Join to Accelerate Industry Standard
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2016 – A first wave of automakers and industry suppliers – led by Toyota
Motor Corporation – is adopting Ford SmartDeviceLink software – a huge step toward giving
consumers more choice in how they connect and control their smartphone apps on the road.
SmartDeviceLink is the open-source software on which the Ford SYNC® AppLink™ platform is
built. It provides consumers an easy way to access their favorite smartphone apps using voice
commands. Automotive suppliers QNX Software Systems and UIEvolution also are adopting the
technology, with plans to integrate it into their products.
By adopting this Ford technology, automakers and suppliers are helping accelerate an industry
standard that will increase the number of apps available for in-vehicle use. With common
industry software, developers can focus on creating the best experience on one platform –
SmartDeviceLink – which will be available to customers of many brands.
PSA Peugeot Citroën is investigating adding SmartDeviceLink to its vehicles. Automakers
Honda, Mazda and Subaru also are considering adding the software.
“The true benefit of a common smartphone app communications interface is that it creates an
industry standard – enabling great experiences for customers while allowing different
companies the freedom to differentiate their individual brands,” said Don Butler, Ford executive
director, Connected Vehicle and Services. “Ford is making the software available as open-
source, because customers throughout the industry benefit if everybody speaks one language.”
SmartDeviceLink software, including AppLink, is part of Ford Smart Mobility – the plan to take
Ford to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience,
and data and analytics.
For news releases, related materials and high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com.
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How an industry standard benefits consumers
SmartDeviceLink-equipped vehicles enable drivers to manage popular smartphone apps using
display screens, buttons and/or voice recognition commands. Popular music apps such as
Spotify and iHeartRadio, information apps including AccuWeather and MLB, retail apps such as
Domino’s, and a growing list of apps from around the world are already available for Ford
AppLink users.
Those apps become more readily available in vehicles equipped with SmartDeviceLink because
developers have access to higher volumes of vehicles and new capabilities. For automakers
and suppliers, SmartDeviceLink adoption broadens the choice for customers in how they
connect and control their smartphones while on the move. Adoption also supports increased
quality and security of the software as multiple parties can collaborate on improvements.
As part of Ford SYNC, AppLink is available on more than 5 million Ford vehicles globally. The
technology is expected to reach 28 million more vehicles by 2020.
Industry-wide adoption of SmartDeviceLink will help the technology spread to new markets,
such as China, Taiwan, New Zealand and Thailand.
Later this year, Ford will introduce the next version of AppLink based on SmartDeviceLink
software, allowing customers to access their favorite compatible navigation app – much as they
do on a smartphone – on in-vehicle touch screens. The upgrade brings smartphone navigation
to the car, an important feature for customers worldwide.
Growing the connected car community
By making SmartDeviceLink software available to the open-source community, Ford is providing
the industry a way to maintain differentiated, brand-specific entertainment and connectivity
systems that deliver on customer expectations for smartphone app integration – regardless of
smartphone.
Livio, a wholly owned Ford subsidiary, continues to manage the open-source project by working
with SmartDeviceLink adopters to build the appropriate interfaces into each unique vehicle
environment.
“Developing a safer and more secure in-car smartphone connectivity service – which better
matches individual vehicle features – is exactly the value and advantage an automaker can offer
customers,” said Shigeki Terashi, executive vice president, Toyota Motor Corporation. “We
expect that many companies share our view and will participate in the industry SmartDeviceLink
collaboration.”
Ottawa, Canada-based QNX Software Systems, a BlackBerry subsidiary, offers a
comprehensive portfolio of infotainment, telematics, safety and acoustics solutions deployed in
more than 60 million vehicles worldwide.
More than 40 automotive manufacturers use QNX Software Systems, including Ford, which
employs the operating system for SYNC 3. QNX plans to integrate SmartDeviceLink into its
QNX CAR™ platform for infotainment, which supports a wide variety of OEM systems. This could
help to rapidly migrate the interface to millions of vehicles around the world.
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