Wingcast - Ford Internet Enabled Vehicles
The Ford Motor Company announced this week that they plan to team up with Qualcomm to bring wireless information into the cars of tomorrow. This new service and company will supposedly be called Wingcast. Ford is running behind GM in adding safety and Internet services into its new cars and the all of the big auto manufactures project that wireless services will be a maturing income stream. Ford is hoping to sell the technology to other auto-makers as well as using it as an end user product.
The Wingcast operation will be located in San Diego (Qualcomm's base) and run by former Microsoft Vice President Harel Kodesh. The plan calls for Wingcast to be installed in a million vehicles in 2002 and every vehicle by 2004. In addition to wireless information Wingcast will also have a built in roadside assistance service similar to GM's OnStar service.
Harel Kodesh says, "Cars and trucks will soon become the fastest growing mobile platform for seamless communications and digital information services." If you go by the offering at the recent Detroit auto show you would be hard pressed to argue with Kodesh. Every major manufacturer was displaying the "car of tomorrow" with everything from Internet enabled dashboards to visors that read you your email.
With this push to data enable autos the question of whether this is a good idea or not seems to have gotten lost, or even not asked. Un doubtable electronic roadside assistance can be a life saving feature but do we really want that barely capable driver in front of us searching Yahoo! as he tries to merge into the left lane? Predicable the large care manufactures see dolor signs from higher sticker prices and certified dealer repairs, but where are the safety tests?
Towns are already banning cell phone use while you are driving, but does anyone thing that they will ban Internet usage in cars that are factory equipped? Today's drivers are forced to deal with an unprecedented number of distractions while handling ever-increasing commuter traffic. Does anyone really think that another added distraction will not increase the number of traffic accidents and deaths?
