OSICT

The Ford Motor Company in the USA has decided to make use of the open source community to develop applications for its SYNC voice-activated in-car communications system - according to a press release on Prdomain.com.

Six students from the University of Michigan-Dearborn have been asked by Ford to select and adapt open source applications for use in Ford cars' Sync system. As part of the agreement with the university the students have signed the SYNC Developers License. This makes them the first SYNC API developers in the world.

Initially the students investigated the 100,000 apps on the iPhone App Store, but didn't find any that were suitable, so they decided to write applications from scratch. The students were able to make use of an API called SYNCLink that had been designed by Ford developers. This API made it possible for their programs to access and control the buttons, displays and voice prompts.

One hundred application concepts were considered before the student decided to focus on two areas: "audio infotainment" and navigation. The infotainment app is called RadioSYNC which makes it possible to tweet a musical track. The navigation app is called FollowMe. This app makes it possible for two friends to follow each other's vehicles.

In 2010 Ford plans to release its full SYNC API initially to "trusted developer partners". This strategy is to ensure that all of the apps in Ford's app store meet safety and legal requirements as well as Ford's "telematics standards" and design rules.

In future Ford foresees that it will be possible for drivers to have their social networking messages read out to them and also be able to access WiFi when parked through a USB port.