Six teams of students presented their apps to a panel of judges from Ford, the University of Michigan and Microsoft. The winning application, called Caravan Track, will run on a Windows 7 PC in a Ford Fiesta research vehicle that will make a socially networked road trip from the university to Maker Faire, the world’s largest do-it-yourself ideas festival in Silicon Valley, held in San Mateo, Calif., beginning May 22. The road trip will leave from Ann Arbor on May 14.
About the apps
Using technology and development tools provided by Ford, Microsoft and Intel, along with a crash course in vehicle interface design provided by Ford engineers, the six teams of students crafted these visions for the future:
•Caravan Track was judged the winning app. The software allows clusters of vehicles traveling together to track each other along the journey. After identifying a route on a main website, users can join to see fellow travelers; view vehicle telemetry including fuel level and speed; track each vehicle; map routes; send alerts about stops along the way; and send text notifications about road conditions and hazards via a multiple choice interface that eliminates the need to type. Team members include John Ciccone, Collin Hockey, Sang Park and Joe Phillips.
•Fuel Tracker provides drivers with real-time feedback about fuel economy and driving habits based on past drivers on a specific route. App users upload their results for different road segments, allowing users to compare details, compete for top fuel economy and share suggestions for improving mileage along specific routes. Team members include Paul Coldren, Amy Kuo, Petch Wannissorn and Clayton Willey.
•The GreenRide Challenge provides a collaborative ride-sharing system, attempting to connect drivers with potential carpool passengers in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The app is connected through Facebook, matching friends who need rides with destinations entered by the driver – and also allowing the driver to invite friends to ride. Points would be awarded for ride-sharing, providing for a possible sponsored reward component. Team members include Scott Dang, Nate Hill, Raphael Jarrouj and Bryan Summersett.
•Listen. Speak. Rate. Share. provides users in-car audio reviews for various points of interest, and also allows drivers to share their thoughts on visited locations, connecting through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular social media sites. Team members include James Di, Yi-wei Ma, Alok Talekar and Xiaowen Zhang.
•NostraMap collects data about road and traffic conditions, giving drivers advance notice about accidents, construction, poor surfaces and other hazards. The app relies on crowd-sourcing: When a user encounters a situation, he or she draws a single character on the map display (A for accident, C for construction, etc.), which is then updated for all users to see. Team members include Murtuza Boxwala, Nader Jawad, Justin Taseski and Sui Yan.
•Points-of-Interest uses a dynamic recommendation system to point drivers toward locations and businesses that match their interests but that they may not have otherwise visited. The system uses a complex algorithm to learn a driver’s tastes and interests over time, allowing it to provide more tailored recommendations and learn the tastes of users with similar interests. Team members include Ryan James, Brad Rubin, Dhritiman Sagar and Weihua Wang.
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| Photo: Ford |
About the apps
Using technology and development tools provided by Ford, Microsoft and Intel, along with a crash course in vehicle interface design provided by Ford engineers, the six teams of students crafted these visions for the future:
•Caravan Track was judged the winning app. The software allows clusters of vehicles traveling together to track each other along the journey. After identifying a route on a main website, users can join to see fellow travelers; view vehicle telemetry including fuel level and speed; track each vehicle; map routes; send alerts about stops along the way; and send text notifications about road conditions and hazards via a multiple choice interface that eliminates the need to type. Team members include John Ciccone, Collin Hockey, Sang Park and Joe Phillips.
•Fuel Tracker provides drivers with real-time feedback about fuel economy and driving habits based on past drivers on a specific route. App users upload their results for different road segments, allowing users to compare details, compete for top fuel economy and share suggestions for improving mileage along specific routes. Team members include Paul Coldren, Amy Kuo, Petch Wannissorn and Clayton Willey.
•The GreenRide Challenge provides a collaborative ride-sharing system, attempting to connect drivers with potential carpool passengers in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The app is connected through Facebook, matching friends who need rides with destinations entered by the driver – and also allowing the driver to invite friends to ride. Points would be awarded for ride-sharing, providing for a possible sponsored reward component. Team members include Scott Dang, Nate Hill, Raphael Jarrouj and Bryan Summersett.
•Listen. Speak. Rate. Share. provides users in-car audio reviews for various points of interest, and also allows drivers to share their thoughts on visited locations, connecting through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular social media sites. Team members include James Di, Yi-wei Ma, Alok Talekar and Xiaowen Zhang.
•NostraMap collects data about road and traffic conditions, giving drivers advance notice about accidents, construction, poor surfaces and other hazards. The app relies on crowd-sourcing: When a user encounters a situation, he or she draws a single character on the map display (A for accident, C for construction, etc.), which is then updated for all users to see. Team members include Murtuza Boxwala, Nader Jawad, Justin Taseski and Sui Yan.
•Points-of-Interest uses a dynamic recommendation system to point drivers toward locations and businesses that match their interests but that they may not have otherwise visited. The system uses a complex algorithm to learn a driver’s tastes and interests over time, allowing it to provide more tailored recommendations and learn the tastes of users with similar interests. Team members include Ryan James, Brad Rubin, Dhritiman Sagar and Weihua Wang.