Beyond | IT : Automotive

So this is what a $2500 car looks like...

john.mullinax — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:37:11 GMT

The Tata Nano was unveiled recently... a new car from Tata Motors that is expected to sell for about $2500. Comes with a 624cc gasoline engine... no word yet on fuel efficiency. Or crash protection. Is this the next Yugo? Or India's Model T?

Not sure in which markets the Tata Nano will be for sale.

This video came from the Wall Street Journal Online's Auto's Video Center. (I found it as the top story on the right rail here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122064537687304741.html).

(Finally, My apologies for posting a somewhat low quality video. When will Brightcove step up to HD?)

Technorati Tags: Tata,Autos

Amazing Day 1 Keynote at MIX!

john.mullinax — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:28:29 GMT

Wow -- so much at MIX I can't possibly do it justice right now, but check out the summary here. Really, really amazing stuff and some super announcements. Just a teaser:

Silverlight for Mobile devices -- and not just windows mobile but Nokia Symbian, too. Use common skills for rich media apps everywhere.
IE8 -- and true standards compliant browsing. Especially check out Activities and Web Slices in the keynote
Preview of the NBC Olympics site, based on Silverlight -- the most ambitious web media project ever.
Silverlight AOL email client -- showing off personalization and huge performance benefits of Silverlight over AJAX (conservatively, 2-3x in this case)
Announcement of new WPF physics engine and controls coming soon
A fantastic automotive B2C web site for Aston Martin -- with tie-ins to a UMPC WPF smart client guided selling in the dealership

See the video stream here.

Technorati Tags: MIX,wpf,silverlight,silverlight mobile

S+S Example #1: Ford Work Solutions

john.mullinax — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:01:00 GMT

Computers and software can do lots of interesting things, and more every day. While I love websites -- I don't want to be completely constrained to them. For example, i like having things like Zune, my smartphone, Windows Live Writer, etc. as part of my life even though (actually, because) the experiences are not completely contained within a browser. The Tao of S+S is that all platforms should work together.

One of the most recent examples of how this S+S ethos can transform users expectations and experiences comes from Ford Motor Company, the folks who brought you the Ford SYNC, and is called "Ford Work Solutions". More here, including this video:

<\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" mce_src="http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/johnmullinax/WindowsLiveWriter/SSExample1FordWorkSolutions_15148/video3a5e16a2a568.jpg" galleryimg="no">

Aside: did Ford hire the away Microsoft's naming strategy people!? Name aside, Ford Work Solutions is pretty cool -- claiming 4 industry firsts:

An in-dash, center stack computer with built-in broadband wireless from Sprint, based on the Microsoft Auto software platform (Windows CE-based). Hardware includes 2 GB memory, an SD card slot, USB port, Bluetooth, SYNC-like features for hands-free calling and texting, 6.5 inch touch screen. It has GPS and navigation system augmented by real time traffic, points of interest, AND gas prices. You also get a keyboard, mouse, stylus and a Ford-certified bluetooth inkjet printer. There is of course a web browser. No word yet on .NET Compact Framework. Built by Magneti Marelli.
An RFID tool tracking system developed with DEWALT and ThingMagic so you can tag your tools and your in dash computer can tell you if you have everything you need for a job when you head out, and also tell you if you're taking all your tools home when you're done. Uses a scanner in the bed of the truck to light up the passive RFID tags.
Crew Chief - a telematics and diagnostics system for small fleets to dispatch workers, manage vehicle fleets, and ease maintenance tracking. In this scenario, the Ford Work Solutions delivers a software application in the vehicle and also is a data source for a more "conventional" SaaS application, too -- with fleet managers able to manage their vehicle fleets based on data sent from the truck up to Ford.
Cable Lock system, developed with Master Lock to help you lock tools securely in an open truck bed. Ok -- this one's not even computer-related. Still, quite handy!

Adding it up, this solution provides a software platform (Microsoft Auto), local RFID, texting, and hands-free phone services, is a data source for conventional SaaS application (e.g., the diagnostic and location data for fleet management), and is a consumer for cloud services (e.g., the gas prices and real time traffic)! Nice! Can't wait to try it. :-) BTW, might be "interesting sport" to compare the Ford Work Solutions offering with my "free advice" here. :-)

This one is hot off the presses -- I'll post additional details as they surface.

Technorati Tags: Ford,in-vehicle softare,Ford Work Solutions,Microsoft Auto,SYNC,S+S

Coskata Ethanol breakthrough announced at Detroit International Autos Show, Partnership with GM

john.mullinax — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 07:40:27 GMT

Rick Wagoner, Chairman of General Motors, announced at the Detroit North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) that GM has taken an equity stake in an ethanol manufacturer called Coskata, and that Coskata has developed a breakthrough process for producing ethanol that is far more efficient than traditional corn processes. In fact, the process is so much more efficient Coskata believes they can produce ethanol for less than $1.00/gallon.

If Coskata can deliver on this claim, it's hugely important. Ethanol has a lower energy density than gasoline, so it takes more gallons to go an equivalent number of miles. This means that ethanol needs to be much cheaper than gasoline to make the fuel cost between ethanol and gasoline equivalent. If ethanol can retail for near $1.00/gallon, it will for the first time cost less to travel 100 miles with ethanol than with petroleum gas.

In addition to lowering costs, important to drive consumer acceptance and adoption, the more efficient ethanol production process promises to also be better for the environment. :-)

Here's an excerpt from the news release published at Coskata's web site:

"Using patented microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, Coskata ethanol is produced via a unique three-step conversion process that turns virtually any carbon-based feedstock, including biomass, municipal solid waste, bagasse and other agricultural waste into ethanol, making production a possibility in almost any geography. Coskata’s process technology is ethanol-specific and enzyme independent, requiring no additional chemicals or pre-treatments; environmentally superior, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 84% compared to conventional gasoline; and has the ability to generate 7.7 times as much energy as is required to produce the ethanol, compared to corn ethanol which generates approximately 1.3 times as much energy according to Argonne National Labs."

A separate news release from Coskata and GM says that their first ethanol plant using their newly announced process will be open in 2011.

Congratulations to Coskata and GM!

Technorati Tags: Automotive,alternative fuel,ethanol

Filling the Boomer Gap in Automotive, post-SYNC what comes next?

john.mullinax — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:11:00 GMT

Ed Wallace has a great article in Business Week about the impact of mass demographics on the auto industry -- fun to read, and insightful. Years ago, I remember walking through Ford WHQ and seeing a distinct focus on Gen Y. Gen X isn't big enough to offset the void the boomers will leave. The auto industry has 2 great hopes to fill the Boomer Gap -- good healthcare to keep boomers driving longer, and Gen Y.

Gen Y didn't grow up loving cars the way the boomers did. And what reason did they have? Not a lot of great cars were made during their formative years. Today, cars are much better. Maybe even better than ever. But that by itself that's not enough by itself to attract Gen Y. Gen Y has a lot of other stuff -- a lot of other toys that they've wrapped their hearts and identities around.

Of course, people still like cars, and want their cars to continue getting better on many dimensions. One of those dimensions that is especially relevant to Gen Y is that they want their cars and other their toys to "just work together". IMO, this explains the energy around Ford Sync - simple in concept, simple in use. At some point down the road, every OEM will have something like Ford Sync. A question to consider: what then will differentiate the OEMs?

Imagining the future a bit... I think there are two answers to this question. The first centers around Sync itself -- if an OEM can turn something like Sync into a true platform that others (even owners) can innovate on top of, they will move far ahead of those who do not. In one way, this is simply another dimension to the already big business of vehicle personalization. BTW, this is also the platform business model that fuels so much of Microsoft's success.

The second answer continues to be Design, (with a Capital D, as my colleague Chris Bernard might say). Post-Sync, I think the mental model of designers, and the subsequent designs, will extend to the complete vehicle ownership experience in totality - beyond what is strictly in the car. How you select, finance, purchase, service, dispose, and replace your vehicle. Today these things happen -- but certainly not as part of a cohesive design. Design will thoughtfully embrace not just how we use our cars, but why we use or cars across the full vehicle ownership lifecycle.

This won't seem unnatural, it's what Gen Y (and later generations) will expect as the physical and virtual worlds become more fully integrated in all parts of our life. More over, they'll expect very personal experiences and significant control in defining their own experiences (see the first answer about being a platform). More than bringing our digital life into our cars, this kind of "Design thinking" will bring our cars into our digital life.

This will require OEMs to think differently about how they serve consumers, and how to be more relevant in more parts of a consumer's life. But I'm hopeful it will happen. Learning lessons from OnStar, ATX, and the Lincoln RESCU service that proceeded them, and especially from the failed Wingcast JV with Qualcomm, Ford and Microsoft have broken the ice with the SYNC implementation of Windows Automotive. Ford SYNC is just the first volley in a revolution that may take many years to play out, and for which the outcome is uncertain, but make no mistake, the revolution has begun.

Technorati Tags: Automotive,Design,Ford,Innovation,In-vehicle software,SYNC,Microsoft

Ford SYNC - Beyond cool, it sells cars, too!

john.mullinax — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:19:00 GMT

Regular readers of this blog know that I've been excited about Ford's SYNC for quite a while now. For those that don't know, SYNC is Ford's implementation of Windows Automotive inside their vehicles to provide hands free access to media and phone. For a great, quick demonstration of SYNC reading/sending text messages and playing music from a USB flash drive, see here.

But the obvious $64,000 dollar question -- the one that will ultimately determine the future of SYNC -- has been this: Will SYNC help Ford sell cars?

With only four months on the market, the early indicators are a resounding YES! According to Ford's press release today, vehicles with SYNC moved off dealer lots twice fast as those without SYNC during the month of November. With days of inventory on lot being one of the key indicators of both dealer and automaker health, cutting the number of days to sell a car in half is a huge impact!

Technorati tags: SYNC, In-vehicle software, Automotive, Ford, Windows Automotive

Share the Robot Love! Toyota's violin playing bot and the GM FIRST Robot Challenge

john.mullinax — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:46:18 GMT

I'm a fan of robots. As such, two things caught my attention recently -- one far from home and one very near. First, on Thursday Toyota unveiled a white, 5 foot tall, violin playing robot that bowed with its right arm and pressed strings with its left. Perhaps the performance lacked "soul", but it was far better than I could do!

Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said he expects robots to be a major business for Toyota in the future. Perhaps a little surprising, but it makes sense if you think about it -- for one thing, Toyota uses robots in the automotive assembly process. More importantly, Toyota has always been an engineering and manufacturing firm, and started out as a loom company (that's loom, as in weaving). In fact, Toyoda (as it was spelled back then) had already been in the loom business for more than 40 years when the "Automobile Department" was formed as part of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd.

Physorg.com has more on the violin playing robot here.

Also, last week I learned of a robotics competition that GM is sponsoring, and that students at the Golightly Academy of IT are entering. If you're not familiar with Golightly, it's affiliated with two more well-known organizations you might be familiar with: Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and the National Academies Foundation (NAF). High School students accepted at the Golightly Academy of IT spend half their day following a "traditional" curriculum and half their day learning professional IT skills based on a NAF-sponsored IT curriculum. The program is hugely successful with graduation rates of 90%, and 80% of students going on to college.

The Golightly Academy of IT is looking for some help with their robotics team. If there are any folks out there who love robots, and also love helping kids discover the power and beauty of technology, please reach out to me through this blog. I'll then put you in touch with the faculty at the academy who can give you more details. :-)

The Academy is specifically looking for someone who knows how to develop in C and would like to mentor a team of high school students. The time commitment is somewhat flexible, but not more than a couple hours per week. Ideally, they're looking for someone who would be available most weeks between January - April. Meetings are either at Golightly Academy of IT or the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI.

I look forward to hearing from you all -- let the rush begin!!! :-)

Technorati tags: automotive, toyota, gm, robots, education

I'm so excited about Ford SYNC (aka Windows Automotive)!

john.mullinax — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 02:39:00 GMT

I can't wait to get my new Ford with SYNC! See a review here . Pricing is just $395. Learn more about SYNC here here . In one way or another, I've been involved in this domain for the last 7 years. In fact, I moved from Seattle to join Ford back in 2000...(read more)

Siemens and Microsoft team up on in-vehicle computing

john.mullinax — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:58:26 GMT

Technorati Tags: Cars , Automotive , In-vehicle software , manufacturing , Car OS Interesting story came out today here . It's interesting for a few reasons: Siemens VDO (the automotive unit) will build solutions for Auto OEMs on Microsoft's consumer...(read more)

Identity -- It's not just for people! (Part 2)

john.mullinax — Fri, 11 May 2007 03:04:00 GMT

Thanks to both Kevin Hammond, Cardspace guru of Casa de Hambone fame, as well as Delbert Murphey, former Architect Evangelist, former managing/chief architect at General Motors, and now Biztalk wunderkind, for their critical insights on this topic! This...(read more)

Identity -- It's not just for people! (Part 1)

john.mullinax — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 02:29:00 GMT

Yesterday I sent an email along these lines to a few friends: Automotive part counterfeiting costs about $12B/year – just for Tier 1 suppliers . Part counterfeiting costs Ford alone $1B. Beyond automotive, according to the National Association of Manufacturing,...(read more)

Toyota's Car OS vs. Ford's Sync (Microsoft Windows Automotive), Part 2

john.mullinax — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:19:00 GMT

Welcome back for Part 2! I didn't expect this to be a series when I wrote the original post , but two things happened recently that might (I hope :-) ) make a second post interesting. First, Reuters picked up a story from the Nikkei business daily headlined...(read more)

Toyota's Car OS vs. Ford's Sync (Microsoft Windows Automotive)

john.mullinax — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 01:29:00 GMT

Ok -- let me come clean right up front: the headline here is slightly misleading because Toyota's Car OS and Ford's Sync are not really directly comparable. For one thing, Toyota's Car OS does not appear to exist yet -- though it reportedly is under development....(read more)

Computers and cars... what's not to like?

john.mullinax — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:06:00 GMT

Just wrapped up 3 days of a great SAE Convergence 2006 conference at COBO Hall in downtown Detroit. This is the world's premier conference about the convergence of computing and automotive engineering. Believe it or not, the conference has been going every two years since the 1970s. Even more surprising, back then 75% of the world's electronics were used in cars and trucks. Wow!

Automotive no longer dominates the embedded and electronics industry the way it used to, but the average vehicle today has about 20 electronic controllers (i.e., computers) in it. With 60 million vehicles produced each year, that's over a billion embedded computers per year (vs. 37 million Dell's last year)! If the industry could act in a coordinated fashion, it could still move the electronics market. Of course, this large numbers of controllers is really one of the industry's primary problems. After all, does it make sense that an average vehicle would have 20+ computers? Or that a luxury vehicle like the a Mercedes E-Class or BMW 7-series would have 70+ embedded controllers (many 32 bit)? This has actually been a problem for a long time, but one of the positive things that emerged from Convergence 2006 is that the industry now seems to recognize this is an issue -- which was not the case the last time I was at Convergence back in 2002.

Among the complementary realizations is this: 90% of the new features and vehicle innovations in the next 10 years are expected to be implemented in software. 90%! In software! This means that managing this innovation effectively can not be separated from managing the software development lifecycle processes. This is a huge challenge for the industry. Add to that: 40%+ of vehicle warranty issues can be traced to software. And finally, one more eye-popping factoid: both the source of today's issues and the source of future innovations are from (will be from) the interaction of what started as independent software modules.

For example, ABS and electronic throttle control interoperating in an intelligent way form Electronic Stability Control. Add a gyro sensor, and you can create Roll Stability Control, as Ford and Volvo did for their SUVs. Add an active chassis system, and you can level a vehicle during hard breaking events to apply greater force to rear tires and reduce stopping distance by 15% or more. This integration of software and hardware modules -- originally designed (and tested) as separate, unrelated entities, is where the most excitement, greatest opportunities, and potentially the biggest pitfalls, all lie.

How can the computing and automotive industries manage this transition? And who will be the winners and losers along the way? These questions, and some potential answers, will guide the next few posts and be a recurring topic here.

What do you think?