[Aika car shopping guide original]
A few years ago, when the central control screen of the "century-old car companies" could only rely on the crappy knob to control, the new cars of the majority of Chinese brands had already played more and more new tricks. This round of inner rolling has given more scientific and technological attributes to the industrial products on the assembly line of the automobile, and has also made more people realize the significance of the car in addition to transportation. And due to the increasingly high usage requirements of consumers, overseas brands have to be prompted to slowly make changes to cope with competition. The protagonist of this event, Ford, is also one of the car companies actively involved in this "arms race". At this Ford China Digital Experience Day, the engineer team also conducted the latest round of results display, showing us their latest concepts, development directions and phased achievements in intelligent networking and digital cockpits.
I vaguely remember the surprise when EVOS was released, it is completely different from all the Ford models that people have known before, cross-border styling, revolutionary interior design, localized software configuration, let us see the determination of this company to embrace Chinese consumers. However, this EVOS is only the beginning for Ford China. (Note: Ford China strictly restricts the shooting of this event, so all new features cannot be displayed through photos, can only be described through text, and the accompanying pictures are for reference only, please understand.) ）
Ford EVOS
In Ford China's view, China's car consumers are very different from the consumer groups in other countries in the world, especially when the main car buyers begin to change to the post-90s and post-00s. Contemporary young people not only care about the power performance and driving quality of a car, but also focus more on the scientific and technological level of a car. Therefore, in order to comply with this change, Ford China set up a special intelligent networking and digital experience team (ECDX) in January 2021, and this team has also grown rapidly in a short period of time, and it also has a strong demonstration significance for Ford's intelligent development in the world.
First generation SYCN+
Taking the user as the foundation and defining the car through software is the core development concept of this new team. In fact, as early as 2019, Ford and Baidu have in-depth cooperation, and the first generation of SYNC+ systems that support high-definition touch screens above 12 inches have begun to be applied to most domestic Ford and Lincoln models. As Ford's exclusive configuration in China, at this time, they are already involved in intelligent voice and software. The development of vehicle and machine systems specifically for the Chinese market is rare even in today's joint venture brands.
Ford EVOS smart cockpit equipped with SYNC+ 2.0 system
With the 2019 SYCN+ test, Ford China added more revolutionary innovations to the SYNC+ 2.0 system born last year, and the entire system has also been applied to the domestic versions of Ford EVOS and Mustang Mach-E. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820A and the large screen also bring unlimited possibilities for the future expansion of the entire car engine system. Experience aside, at least in terms of perception, it satisfies everyone's long-standing fantasy about the smart cockpit.
Ford EVOS Smart Cockpit
Minimizing the touch of the hand on the screen is the most fundamental development concept of SYCN+ in the future, in this experience day activity, the manufacturer based on the EVOS equipped with the 1.1 meters long screen to demonstrate many new features, including entertainment, driving assistance and other aspects. In the future, SYCN+ will integrate many ecological products from Baidu and Tencent and add more applications, involving social media, audiovisual entertainment, travel, life services and car services. Provides full-scene "visible and speakable" voice control and wake-free multi-wheel interaction with the in-car voice assistant.
Ford EVOS voice control buttons
Reducing the use of hands will inevitably improve the "presence" of speech recognition systems in daily use. In this demonstration, taking music software and WeChat as an example, through the optimization of the car APP, you can use voice to complete all the functions that previously needed to be completed by hand. It can realize a variety of operations including adding to favorites, opening a specified song list, adjusting the equalizer, and sending and receiving WeChat. And like many new-age car systems, the members of the car no longer need to mechanize the "giving orders", closer to the daily communication between people, and can also complete the voiceprint payment in specific scenarios. In addition, according to the previous feedback of consumers, the new version of the car machine system has also been modified according to the use habits of the air conditioning interface, haptic feedback and sound feedback.
At the level of driver assistance that many people are concerned about, Ford China has also made it clear that instead of pursuing the highest level of driver assistance, it will provide more reliable and easy-to-use driver assistance functions for daily commuting based on existing technology, helping drivers to free up some of their energy.
Vehicle-to-road coordination
So what can be met is that the driver assistance function above L2 will not appear on the Ford model for a short time. However, with the development and application of the C-V2X vehicle-road collaboration system, the entire auxiliary system has also stepped up to a higher level of intelligence. The so-called vehicle-road collaboration is that the car is connected to the intelligent infrastructure on the road surface, under specific conditions, the software will automatically push traffic light information and countdown, and calculate the optimal "green wave speed" for the driver to reduce the driver's wait when encountering a red light. The system is currently being piloted in some cities and is expected to be gradually expanded to more regions.
EVOS driver assistance related settings buttons
In addition, the simplification of driver assistance settings is also one of the obvious changes to this system in the future. On future Ford models, drivers will not have to adjust a function individually, but it is possible to shift driver assistance to scenarios. According to the road conditions of the vehicle, the appropriate driver assistance mode is automatically selected, and when the vehicle meets the driving assistance conditions, the system will prompt the driver through voice, and the relevant functions will be automatically activated after obtaining consent. According to engineers, it is also possible to directly divide the auxiliary function into two modes: "new driver" and "old driver", and after completing the relevant courses and tests of the mobile app, the system will gradually unlock and have a higher degree of tolerance.
Lincoln Z
In the final Lincoln experience area, factory engineers introduced a new smart cockpit that is expected to be installed on future models. The cockpit consists of an integrated curved screen spanning the main and passenger seats and a Pad in the central control area, where the integrated curved screen does not support touch, and all functions will be implemented through a voice recognition system. Smart camera images at home can be popped up at any time, so that the driver can keep abreast of the situation in the room. And through the car machine and friends' social media connection, if necessary, the road information and arrival time together with feedback to friends, no longer need the driver to operate alone.
Lincoln Z interior
At the same time, in terms of AR-HUD, this system also has a certain degree of innovation. Under the premise of maintaining the original navigation function, it will also display relevant information such as landmarks, influencer punch points, restaurants, and scenic spots. When passengers in the car want to know, they can ask the system in the form of gestures. If the situation allows, the relevant small video will be automatically played on the screen in front of the co-pilot to introduce the passengers, completely eliminating the need for mobile phones.
Some of the software-level functions mentioned above may also be upgraded online for current car owners in the form of OTAs, but there is no clear timetable for the specific push time.
The new generation of Ford Mondeo Smart Cockpit
In addition to the features that can already be demonstrated, Ford has also released for the first time the concept of a "Digital life Pod" smart life capsule, which is expected to be launched in 2023. As a continuation of digital life, Ford's new intelligent life capsule is also based on efficient voice recognition, integrating more life scenarios, and is committed to building a car into a travel partner and a family member with temperature, and the official also divides it into five major application scenarios such as gathering space, workstation, music creation, adventure partner and e-sports center.
In fact, the so-called intelligent life cabin is to connect the car with more equipment and facilities that do not belong to it, realize the functions that do not belong to the car, and gradually turn the car into a control center for electronic devices. Even if you don't travel, you want to get the job done in the car, which may be the extreme manifestation of this development path.
Operate the drone in the car to complete the shooting
In the "Adventure Partner" scene, the intelligent life capsule can be connected with Go Pro and DJI drones, control Go Pro to complete the shooting through the voice recognition function in the car, or control the take-off and flight of the drone. After the shooting is completed, the car machine system can implement a simple clip and post directly in the designated social media. In other application scenarios, vehicles can also be used to achieve multiplayer game battles, external game peripherals, karaoke, music creation and editing and other functions. In the above functions, it will also interact with the interior mood lights, seats, and even the exterior headlights to bring a more immersive experience as much as possible.
Ford's new generation of Mondeo
However, this set of Ford smart life capsules is still in the design and development stage, and has not yet involved any plans for future new models produced by Ford and Lincoln in China. In what form the above functions will eventually land, it is difficult to judge at present.
Editor's summary: In the movie "Speed King", there is such a clip. Henry Ford II came to the production workshop, drove all the workers home, and announced that only those who came up with ideas could get back to work. In the end, they chose to get rid of the dilemma they encountered at that time through the event. Previously, ford's successive declines in sales in China have also made them face a "critical survival autumn" situation, so it is time to make changes.
Soon, Ford China 2.0 strategy brought drastic innovation to its products, gradually transforming with Chinese consumers as the core, and actively embracing the era of intelligent networking. The many technologies that Ford China has shown us this time are enough to attract attention, and more or less once again let us have a new understanding of networking and intelligence. In fact, on the previously released new Mondeo, we can already see the landing of many functions and concepts, and Ford's smart cockpit has brought us a rare technology atmosphere of the same level of joint venture cars. But for the real "out of pocket" car buyers, advanced concepts are definitely not equal to real practicality, so how to better land, for the owners who choose Ford to bring a better experience, which will also be a bigger test for car companies.