Ford’s Cloud-Connected car, the Evos Concept, to make North American debut at 2012 CES

The Ford Evos Concept embodies the company’s new global design language while providing a glimpse at Ford’s technology future highlighted by the use of cloud computing to enhance the driving experience.

“Today, drivers have to adapt to the features and capabilities of their car,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford chief technical officer and leader of the company’s global Research and Innovation team. “The Evos Concept changes the paradigm of how you interact with your car. Our vision is that the car should seamlessly adapt to the driver taking the driving experience to a whole new level of personalization and convenience.”

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The Evos Concept integrates technology in a holistic way meant to enrich the driving experience. By exchanging data with the cloud, the Evos extends the connected lifestyle from home and office to the vehicle, providing new possibilities for personalization and adaptability of the car.

Through integration of on-board data about driver preferences with cloud-based information such as work schedules, music and weather conditions, and local data delivered through vehicle-to-vehicle communications, Evos Concept aims to make life simpler. “The car gets to know you and can act as a personal assistant to handle some of the usual routines of a daily commute,” said Mascarenas.

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Ford researchers have also incorporated technologies to enhance driver health and wellness while at the wheel. Features such as the heart-rate monitoring seat and certified allergy-free interiors connect to the cloud to monitor the physical state and workload of the driver, and adjust the driving experience accordingly.

“Our wellness research and technologies are focused on relieving driver stress and enhancing a driver’s situational awareness,” said Mascarenas. “Drivers around the world are spending more time behind the wheel, and the car should not be another stress point in their lives.”

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Evos also utilizes the power of the cloud to understand driver behavior and travel patterns in order to make predictions about destinations and to adjust the control strategies for the state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Through understanding where the driver is likely to go, Evos can intelligently switch between running on battery or engine power in order to use the least amount of energy for any situation.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, will be returning to the International CES stage for the fourth consecutive year, participating in the 2012 Innovation Power Panel keynote. The Innovation Power Panel will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 9 a.m.

Provided by Ford Motor Company