Ford wants its vehicles to talk to DJI drones and Amazon Echo

Ford is putting a challenge out to developers, looking for someone to design a drone-to-vehicle communications network.

The DJI challenge victor also receives US$ 100,000 (Rs 64 lakh). The goal is to one day enable the United Nations Development Program to inspect inaccessible emergency zones around the world. Oh, I forgot to mention: all from the cab of a Ford F-150.

As for the drone deal with Chinese manufacturer DJI, Fields said that Ford was setting up a developer challenge to coordinate communication between drones and its automobiles.

The rapidly deployable surveying system ideally would work like this: A response team would drive an F-150 as far as possible into an emergency zone caused by an quake or tsunami. Data will be relayed to the drone so the driver can continue to a new destination, and the drone will catch up and dock with the truck, the OEM added.

Ford VP for Advanced Engineering, Ken Washington, said that his company is “driving innovation in every part of our business to help make people’s lives better”.

Simple Control announced today that its popular iOS apps for control of AV gear and smart home devices have been certified by Amazon for use with their Amazon Echo product.

Separately, Ford’s SYNC AppLink is being developed to include compatibility with the Wink smart home platform.

The OEM hopes that this project eventually would allow for drone-to-vehicle applications in agriculture, forestry, construction, bridge inspection, search and rescue, and other work environments in which vehicles are space-, height- or terrain-limited.

Meanwhile, Ford is tripling its fleet of Autonomous Vehicles used for research and testing.

The drone is to be launched via Ford F-150’s touchscreen inside the pickup, which is linked to the smartphone app. With the United Nations on board, DJI and Ford have an opportunity to do good and be a part of a noble theme. This will then need to be followed by the name or ticker symbol of a publicly listed company tracked by the asset management firm, for Alexa to check up on the company’s financial health and inform its users about it. For example, “Alexa, Ask Fidelity how Amazon is doing” will help users get the latest financial information regarding the world’s largest online retail business.