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Ford and Toyota Synch Up on Smartphone Connectivity
Under a new agreement, Toyota Motor Corp. says it is considering the use of Ford Motor Co.'s SmartDeviceLink (SDL) smartphone interface technology in future Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
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Under a new agreement, Toyota Motor Corp. says it is considering the use of Ford Motor Co.'s SmartDeviceLink (SDL) smartphone interface technology in future Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
SDL, which was developed by Ford and its Livio subsidiary as an open-sourcing platform, currently is available in more than 5 million Ford vehicles worldwide.
Toyota and Ford have collaborated on telematics standards since 2011. SDL allows automakers to maintain control of their in-vehicle infotainment systems and lucrative telematics applications, circumventing Google Inc.'s Android Auto and Apple Inc.'s CarPlay technology that other automakers are adopting.
As with the Google and Apple systems, SDL integrates smartphones into the vehicle's infotainment system. This allows motorists to access various applications including music, weather, parking and navigation functions, hands-free phone calls and messaging by using voice recognition, display screens and dashboard or steering wheel controls.
Ford notes that SDL enables developers to easily install an app across multiple vehicles and infotainment systems without major redesigns or compromising an automaker's control of the dashboard design. This cut development time and cost, thus allowing apps to be introduced more quickly to a wider audience.
SDL is the open source version of Ford's AppLink software. In Ford vehicles equipped with the automaker's Sync infotainment system, AppLink is the programming interface that allows smartphone apps such as Spotify, Glympse, iHeartRadio, Pandora and others to be integrated into the vehicle.
Earlier this week Mitsubishi announced plans for a similar system called Smartphone Link Display Audio. Due to debut this summer on the Pajero SUV in Europe, the system can interface with iPhone and Android phones.
The first application for Android Auto is the 2015 Hyundai Sonata sedan, while CarPlay is available only in Ferrari supercars. But most automakers are planning to offer one or both of the technologies soon, with combined installations forecast to rocket to nearly 70 million units by 2020.
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