Clint Boulton
eWeek
May 14, 2011
Ford is leveraging Google’s Prediction API to model driving behavior based on driving history. The idea is to optimize fuel and/or power consumption by guessing routes.
Ford Motor Company is using Google’s Prediction API to improve energy efficiency in its cars, the company said.
The Prediction API is a tool developers can use to, for example, write applications that recommend content such as movies or target key customers. The tool leverages Google’s massive cloud of servers and storage.
At Google I/O in San Francisco May 11, Ford said the API could be used to gauge driver behavior and tune car controls to boost fuel or hybrid-electric efficiencies.
Specifically, Ford is using the prediction software to study driving history, including where a driver has traveled and at what time of day, over the prior two-year period.
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Using this driving history, which would be completely voluntary, Ford believes it will be able to divine where a driver is headed at the time of his or her departure.
The motor vehicle maker said it will be able to enable the car to “optimize itself” for the route, thus preserving fuel and/or electricity.
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