Fordpass Alexa Skill, Google Home

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Hi all! I'm on the team at Ford that works on both the FordPass Alexa Skill and Google Action. (I also have a Mach-e on order myself!)
I'm happy to try and clear up any questions, address any issues, as well as take input on requested additional features.

first of all, welcome. It's always nice to have an "insider" join the ranks of "insiders" here already ?

okay here's a question you I am 99.99% sure you can't personally answer but I'm hoping you can drop a note to someone... there's an API referred to at Ford Connected Vehicle API ... when can we start to see that roll out generally rather than "Early Access"? I know there's a lot of IT people on the forum that are at least hobbyist developers if not professional developers that are interested in tapping into their cars in a supported (vs. say "reverse engineering the API") way.

I'm sort of hoping the APIs you are using internally are being done by the same folks that will own the public API which is why I'm hoping you know who to poke at

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[TheSeg]

+1 on all things iOS integration.

To clarify, I'm on one of the many connected vehicle teams that work on FordPass-related technology in Ford. I personally can best help and address items related to Alexa and Google. But certainly all feedback is welcome.

Apple Car Keys

Car Keys allows for car access without launching the FordPass App (after initial setup). Just boop the phone to the contact point (or if the Mach-E does wideband, in the near presence) and the handshake is handled at the OS level. Even if the device's battery is nil. I know Ford's part of the Car Connectivity Consortium. So far only BMW has rolled out the feature, and that just can't stand.

As the device ecosystem grows, most of the foundation of Car Keys will allow day 1 implementation of new devices without further development by the car manufacture. The Apple Wallet feature was around on the iPhone for years. When the Apple Watch came out, all Wallet passes worked on the Watch from day 1 without modifications.

Siri & Apple Shortcuts

I admit I need to do a bit more research to make a full proposal, but I want to also make mention of Shortcuts. If certain functionality is exposed to Shortcuts (pre-condition car, lock, start/stop charging…), then a user can create the ways they wish to enable these functions to interact with other commands or services.

I'm sure the line of unlocking and (perhaps?) starting the car would require keys and thus off the table for obvious security reasons. But whatever in-app functionality there is, exposing that functionality to Shortcuts is an easy way to provide a lot more use for the customer.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

+1 on all things iOS integration.

see in contrast if they insist on phone-specific stuff, I'd much rather it be Android, not iOS, given that Android completely dominates market share, 85% to 15% ( IDC - Smartphone Market Share - OS ). Every second spent on the substantially smaller OS market at the expense of the larger market means not supporting the majority of customers. I'm not just saying that as an Android owner, I'm saying that as a Ford shareholder. And something like Apple's proprietary phone-as-key system can't be cross-platform by definition, unlike say FordPass which could in theory be written cross-platform like React or Xamarin or something.

Now, if we were talking wearables, then that would be different: • Wearables market share companies 2014-2020 | Statista

 

[jhalkias]

see in contrast if they insist on phone-specific stuff, I'd much rather it be Android, not iOS, given that Android completely dominates market share, 85% to 15% ( IDC - Smartphone Market Share - OS ). Every second spent on the substantially smaller OS market at the expense of the larger market means not supporting the majority of customers. I'm not just saying that as an Android owner, I'm saying that as a Ford shareholder. And something like Apple's proprietary phone-as-key system can't be cross-platform by definition, unlike say FordPass which could in theory be written cross-platform like React or Xamarin or something.

Now, if we were talking wearables, then that would be different: • Wearables market share companies 2014-2020 | Statista

But. . . . Those Android percentages are a bit deceiving. They include all those crappy Android phones that are cheap. I’m going to bet that the Mach E customers are closer to if not 50-50 between the two platforms.
And as a big generality iPhone users tend to spend more $$. Good for Ford stock.
The win for Ford is to develop for both.

 

[Garbone]

But. . . . Those Android percentages are a bit deceiving. They include all those crappy Android phones that are cheap. I’m going to bet that the Mach E customers are closer to if not 50-50 between the two platforms.
And as a big generality iPhone users tend to spend more $$. Good for Ford stock.
The win for Ford is to develop for both.

Don't count on it. Phones are a consumable, love me a decent Android phone, can drop it in the pool and have another one running with a cloud load in less than 24 hours for $125. Have an Iphone for work, way overpriced.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

But. . . . Those Android percentages are a bit deceiving. They include all those crappy Android phones that are cheap. I’m going to bet that the Mach E customers are closer to if not 50-50 between the two platforms.
And as a big generality iPhone users tend to spend more $$. Good for Ford stock.
The win for Ford is to develop for both.

While that may or may not be true, the post I was quoting directly asked for Apple proprietary technologies.

 

[Rafgar]

It‘s in the post right before yours.

Got it. I must have been typing when that message came in. Thanks.

 

[Ford Team]

first of all, welcome. It's always nice to have an "insider" join the ranks of "insiders" here already ?

okay here's a question you I am 99.99% sure you can't personally answer but I'm hoping you can drop a note to someone... there's an API referred to at Ford Connected Vehicle API ... when can we start to see that roll out generally rather than "Early Access"? I know there's a lot of IT people on the forum that are at least hobbyist developers if not professional developers that are interested in tapping into their cars in a supported (vs. say "reverse engineering the API") way.

I'm sort of hoping the APIs you are using internally are being done by the same folks that will own the public API which is why I'm hoping you know who to poke at

I must say, I'm impressed and excited about the enthusiasm around API access on this forum! As tinkerer myself, I understand the want. It's funny you link to that site; they aren't the prettiest, but I actually put together some of those slides, ha. As with any connected products, we want to ensure we enable access with quality, security, and safety in mind, which can take time. But you have reason to hope!

 

[TheSeg]

see in contrast if they insist on phone-specific stuff, I'd much rather it be Android, not iOS, given that Android completely dominates market share, 85% to 15% ( IDC - Smartphone Market Share - OS ).

Ok, lots to unpack here.

In the case of Car Keys -- aka Digital Key Release -- the implementation will include Android when that team finishes rolling out their interpretation.

Let's unpack the places where there is and isn't cross-platform interoperability.

The Digital Key Release specifications are agreed upon by members of the consortium, including Ford, Google, Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, and so on. All the device and software players seem to be at the table.

Apple does put a marketing name on the service (Car Keys) and interprets the specification using other Apple branded products/services (Apple Wallet, iMessage). Apple was first out of the gate for OS support, but not the only player.

Google/Android can call their interpretations by their own names, and they are certainly aware of them as members. As recently as mid-January, Samsung announced the UWB (Ultra Wideband) coming attractions. Samsung can't achieve this if Android isn't supporting Digital Key Release.

As I'll review, matching to the agreed upon specification means minimal platform specific work is needed by the car manufacture.

The specification does require platform specifics for the client application (FordPass) to the underlying APIs for the operating system. Actions like "Make a new key" or "Does a key exist?". On the server side, Ford servers must ingest and respond between iOS/Android system servers.

As a technical standpoint, server-side push notifications for an application run in a very similar way. I believe FordPass already implements on both platforms, though I confess it's a new endpoint to handle.

The car's handshake is the same regardless of device used. In fact, the car may not actually know or care what OS the client is using. The handshake is standard NFC/UWB communication of cryptographic standards, not locked to iOS or Android owned or hidden specifications. This is also why network isn't used after initial key setup. All the devices can solve the math problems to authenticate the handshake.

The WWDC video I linked outlines the entire workflow. While it's using some Apple specific branding and iOS interpretations, the process doesn't require Apple hardware to replicate on Android. The client's device needs NFC or UWB hardware to communicate with the car. The car needs to have NFC and/or UWB support. None of these elements are inherently proprietary to iOS/Android. The protocols of both are already standard and components procured outside of either.

In the end, Apple devices will have the benefits at first. Once Android releases the OS support, nothing changes with the car's software to support Android made keys. The FordPass app will need to call the Android APIs to make a key. Ford's "make/revoke a key" server takes in a new endpoint to spit out the same data.

Which is a long way for me to ask: Does the Mach-E have NFC and/or UWB?


A note on usage data:
The usage data you providing is the world wide phone market share with no other factors. It doesn't account :

• The regions the Mach-E will be marketed in.
• Devices which have the hardware capability of communicating to a car (NFC/UWB).
• Which phones the FordPass team wants to support in the first place.

I don't intend to imply that the percentages are flipped, but to use the global general on a much more narrow set of use case of an BEV is disingenuous to the FordPass development teams. You're forcing them to spend more time supporting devices drivers won't or can't use.


And a thank you!
I really enjoyed the excuse to look into the tech and discovered what's actually running these systems. Thanks for the journey!

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

(lots of deleted info)

Which is a long way for me to ask: Does the Mach-E have NFC and/or UWB?

I had spent zero time looking into the details so thanks for keeping me honest

A note on usage data:
The usage data you providing is the world wide phone market share with no other factors. It doesn't account :

• The regions the Mach-E will be marketed in.
• Devices which have the hardware capability of communicating to a car (NFC/UWB).
• Which phones the FordPass team wants to support in the first place.

I don't intend to imply that the percentages are flipped, but to use the global general on a much more narrow set of use case of an BEV is disingenuous to the FordPass development teams. You're forcing them to spend more time supporting devices drivers won't or can't use.

While in the US the iOS market share is abnormally high compared to ROW, in Europe and China that's not true, which is why the numbers globally are so Android-heavy. And Europe and China are both major markets. I don't believe it's disingenuous to look at global numbers for a global car.

And for what it's worth, Android is still higher in the US alone, too, although it's a lot closer, and Q4 potentially changed this up: US Smartphone Market Share: By Quarter: Counterpoint (counterpointresearch.com)

And to reiterate - I'm referring to not locking in to an OS vendor, or if they do, lock in to one, not the other, first. If something can be done cross-platform, that's ideal.

I don't think the FordPass team needs us to tell them their market share needs in any event.

 

[AndyS_OSU]

Not currently and no timing, but it's something we're investigating.

I never understand when the leading smart phone platform in the US is not a priority for a US based car company. Sure Apple keeps more of their integrations close to the vest as well as not playing the bigdata game by selling out the consumer from a data/privacy standpoint, but it's still doable. These decisions are ridiculously short-sighted.

Obviously this isn't directed at you personally, rather whomever elected to not throw resources at Homekit/Siri integration

 

[Tsand4]

I never understand when the leading smart phone platform in the US is not a priority for a US based car company. Sure Apple keeps more of their integrations close to the vest as well as not playing the bigdata game by selling out the consumer from a data/privacy standpoint, but it's still doable. These decisions are ridiculously short-sighted

I think it comes down to Apple plays well with Apple and doesn't always interact well with others. By doing so, they are limiting the potential of users to interact with non-Apple products. You may just have to wait for the Apple EV to have reliable Siri interaction.

 

[AndyS_OSU]

I think it comes down to Apple plays well with Apple and doesn't always interact well with others. By doing so, they are limiting the potential of users to interact with non-Apple products. You may just have to wait for the Apple EV to have reliable Siri interaction.

This is a tired argument. I have a whole house full of devices from multiple manufactures that work with Apple HomeKit. If a company that makes sprinkler head units can do it, Ford can too.

 

[Mach-E VLOG]

This is a tired argument. I have a whole house full of devices from multiple manufactures that work with Apple HomeKit. If a company that makes sprinkler head units can do it, Ford can too.

More than likely it is about Apple's fees or maybe the privacy policies. I'm just guessing though. It would make sense to have the three major home automation platforms all covered.

 

[Tsand4]

Welcome @Ford Team, I have had my MachE for a few days and slowly learning all of the capabilities with the FordPass app. A few things I have noticed thus far:

1) When preconditioning prior to departure, it would be much better to select a temperature (as in degree setting) that we wish instead of the subjective "cool, medium, warm" options currently available.
2) I have not been able see see any "My Journeys" through FordPass. Is this not yet available? I do see that Trip Logs are "coming soon" and wondering if these are related.
3) Should I be able to see my current odometer mileage in the "Glove Box"? It only shows 1 mile.

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