Ford: The Car that Cares

by Lori Cunningham

I just love going to Ford’s Annual Trends Conference each year*.  Ford continues to fascinate me on how they push the boundaries in using technology to make your drive more safe…and more connected.  A while back we wrote about the future connected car and how it could identify potential accidents using WiFi with other cars and warn you to break immediately to avoid a collision.  Learn more in our article, Ford:  Car of Tomorrow.

Ford has been working on cloud connectivity for years now and finding ways to personalize the experience on driving conditions, unforeseen driving implications, personalization, and connections with your favorite apps to utilize them in the car hands free.

This year, Ford introduced their new concept, “the car that cares.”  In addition to providing a less distracting environment, they believe that health and well-being are important to the driver as well and could result in further distraction.    Below are three new concepts Ford is already working on to provide in their cars.

According to WebMD, allergies are growing in the US.  Currently, 1 in 5 people have either allergies or asthma symptoms and yet 55% of the population test positive to one or more allergies.  Allergies are the 5th leading chronic disease in the US.  Unfortunately, allergies aren’t going away.  There’s a great website and app called Pollen.com that gives you a daily and 4 day forecast of a pollen rating in your zip code.  Through AppLink, which is a part of the MyFordTouch system, Ford is working on not only enabling the app to help you in the car, but also possibly directing you to alternative routes, which will have less pollens in the air, thereby reducing your pollen intake.  Who would have thought of that?  That means less allergy symptoms for you and your little passengers.

Heart-rate monitoring in the seat is another interesting feature Ford is experimenting within car seats.  It’s not necessarily for you to check your heart health but more so for sensing when you are going through a more stressful time during driving.  For example, you may be switching lanes, avoiding a possible accident, stopping and staring a lot.  During these times, your heart rate tends to increase which when sensed through the heart-rate monitoring seat, sends a signal to block any incoming calls or texts until your heart rate has returned to normal.

                                                                                                                                                      source:  2005–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Diabetes affects 25.8 million people in the US and it is a growing epidemic due to our eating habits.  When a diabetic’s sugar levels go too low or even too high, the diabetic can go into a sugar coma making them sluggish, light-headed, confused, or possibly even unresponsive.  Diabetic comas can be disastrous if a diabetic experiences one behind a wheel.

Ford is looking into ways it can help alert drivers as early as possible that they are experiencing diabetic issues before they become too great and impair the driver’s performance.  As you need to have your finger poked to read traditional glucose monitoring, this will not be possible in the car without distraction.  However, there’s a portion of the diabetic population that wear a continuous glucose monitor, and Ford is working on standards to be able to make these readings more apparent as a person is driving.  By becoming more aware that you have light-headedness, confusion, or blurry vision, you are more likely to pull over.

A Mom’s Perspective

I for one would have never dreamed that a car company, above all else, would be looking into how pollens, driver stress, and diabetic issues can affect a driver.  But all of these can be major issues in driver distraction and possible candidates to cause an accident.  I remember waiting for a friend of mine to get out of lunch in 5th grade.  All the other classes let out 10 minutes before and I was still waiting for her class.  I finally went to tell a playground supervisor.  It turns out, the teacher was having a diabetic reaction.  They sent for an ambulance right away and I watched as the teacher was taken out on a stretcher.  Wow, I had never experienced that before.  The kids in the classroom knew something was going on, but they didn’t know what to do, so they just followed her instructions to stay seated.  That incident was my first exposure to the harm diabetes can cause not only the diabetic but also those around them.

I love the fact that Ford is looking beyond the “mechanics” of building a good car but also foreseeing and building cars that help minimize distractions and very possibly save lives.  I’m anxious to see what new developments they come up with to help care for their drivers in the future.  As a Ford owner myself, I consider myself in the front seat as I watch what they will do next.

*  I was invited to Ford for the Trends Conference.  All travel and lodging expenses were taken care of by Ford.  All opinions are my own.