Ford SYNC and Microsoft Windows Embedded 2010-01-2319

Published
Automotive Make Digital Lifestyle a Reality on the 10/19/2010
Road

Mukund Ghangurde
Microsoft Corp.

Copyright © 2010 SAE International

• Positive business results generated by Ford SYNC,

ABSTRACT including broad consumer satisfaction with the technology;
With Ford SYNC, Microsoft Corporation and Ford Motor and,
Company have democratized in-vehicle infotainment systems
• The future of Ford SYNC and Windows Embedded
- delighting consumers and bringing a new kind of agility to
Automotive technology.
the automobile industry.

Built on Microsoft Auto (now Windows Embedded INTRODUCTION

Automotive), Ford SYNC is a factory-installed, voice- From the home, to the workplace, to everyday
controlled communications and entertainment system that communication and entertainment, digital technology is
allows drivers to converge their digital lifestyle with their life pervasive in today's consumer lifestyle. For the most part, the
on the road. Windows Embedded Automotive is an industry automobile has failed to keep pace with this digital
leading technology platform that provides integrated technology revolution, due largely to systemic industry
infotainment features and a rich user interface. Car issues, such as a multi-year research and development cycle
manufacturers and suppliers worldwide can use this software and a 3rd party partnership model that has traditionally kept
to create differentiated, infotainment in-vehicle systems that auto manufacturers distanced from faster-paced, technology
are immediately attractive to consumers. component suppliers.

This white paper will examine: Ford and Microsoft took a different approach to vehicle
• Past approaches to in-car infotainment system development; infotainment systems. Both companies were early to
recognize the trend of digital convergence in the automobile,
• The evolution of the Windows Embedded Automotive
and shared a vision for an affordable, product that would
platform as Microsoft addressed market readiness and other
reach beyond the niche markets of luxury auto buyers and
business/technical issues through collaboration with the
after-market enthusiasts.
automotive industry;
• How Ford and Microsoft had a common vision, validated it The result of this close collaboration is the Ford SYNC
with research, and worked in partnership to bring the vision product (See Figure 1), which is the best-selling vehicle
to market, giving consumers the ability to combine their infotainment system to date. SYNC has redefined Ford's
digital lifestyle with their life on the road; image, thrilled customers, and even revolutionized the car
• How the auto manufacturer democratized in-car systems by itself.
delivering it first on the most affordable car in Ford's line-up,
the Focus sedan and coupe, to the increasing surprise and For Microsoft, SYNC was an opportunity for the software
delight of its customers; maker to further evolve its platform, in partnership with one
of the leading companies of the auto industry. What's more,
• The collaborative marketing campaign that leveraged Ford
and Microsoft brand name recognition around the globe;
the lessons learned during the co-development and marketing By 2002, it was clear that automobile drivers were going to
of SYNC are benefitting auto manufacturers worldwide. want their personal devices integrated into vehicles. The
standard for Bluetooth-an open wireless technology for
exchanging data over short distances-was approved, enabling
drivers to connect their mobile handsets with vehicles. In
addition, the first portable media players were appearing on
retail shelves, marking the emergence of the digital music
revolution.1

The central problem for the automotive industry was that

consumer electronics were evolving at a rapid pace, while
automotive design cycles were still geared to multi-year
planning and development cycles. In partnership with
manufacturers, Microsoft developed an updatable device-
gateway, which would effectively separate the fast changing
pace of consumer device innovation from the relatively slow
cycle of vehicle delivery.

The first major proof point of Microsoft's vision came about

as a result of its partnership with Fiat Group Automobiles.
Figure 1. SYNC-equipped Ford Focus
Fiat wanted a way to integrate mobile devices with cars to
meet the needs of the growing smartphone market in Europe
and shared Microsoft's concept of creating a device-gateway
Overview of Vehicle Infotainment System with a rich user interface - soon to be known as Blue&Me.
Development Microsoft contributed the critical software platform enabling
Microsoft had a vision to extend the power and convenience Fiat to introduce the Blue&Me in-vehicle infotainment
of software to consumers on the road. The company system to market just 24 months after it was conceived in
collaborated with auto manufacturers over several years, 2004.
allowing it to shape the technical backbone of vehicle
infotainment systems-and what would become one of the This voice-activated system featured Bluetooth wireless
most innovative of these systems to date-Ford SYNC. technology for mobile phones and USB connectivity for
digital music players and other devices. It could read FAT
Microsoft's automotive efforts began in 1996 with core file systems on MP3 players, allowing for voice commands.
technology based on Windows CE. The company chose this There were multiple Blue&Me product iterations for
purpose-built operating system (OS) because it was designed navigation, fleet, and other applications, and, by January
for mission-critical embedded devices that had a minimal 2010, more than 1 million Fiat vehicles equipped with
footprint. The OS has been used by industries that require Blue&Me had been sold.
reliable performance, such as healthcare and industrial
automation, making it particularly suitable for demanding Market Research Weighs In
automotive applications. In 2006, Microsoft engaged FITCH to research automotive
customer needs. One key finding of the research indicated
By the late 1990s, the general view was that in-car systems that consumers ranked safety, music, and navigation as more
would appeal only to luxury car buyers or after-market important than other factors, (see Figure 2).
enthusiasts. Early attempts to meet the needs of this market
lacked mass appeal due to high cost and a niche audience; Microsoft also discovered that for many consumers the
however, they represented important milestones in importance of GPS navigation was falling, while the
Microsoft's development of an in-vehicle infotainment significance attached to connectivity with mobile phones and
solution. digital music players was rising. This made sense because
mobile phones had more daily relevance in most people's
A New Approach Takes Shape lives than did the navigation features in a car. The phone was
Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Microsoft teamed a more personalized device because it helped people keep in
with auto manufacturers, including BMW, Citroen, Toyota, touch with work, family, and friends.
Volvo, and Fiat, to enhance and further develop its
automotive operating system and infotainment systems. The research also revealed that drivers wanted access to the
information on the mobile devices they carried daily (e.g.,
 Figure 2. excerpt front FITCH 2006 Observational Research, Customer Segmentation, Analysis

songs on an MP3 player, phone numbers on a mobile phone) direct and collaborative relationship with technology
when they got inside their vehicles. Equally as important, providers (e.g., Microsoft).
people wanted to use these devices with convenient voice-
control operation. Using software as an independent platform to build an
infotainment system: Having a core software platform
Ford's Vision and Collaboration with would give an auto manufacturer like Ford more flexibility
and extensibility to innovate, speed up the product refresh
Microsoft Drives Development of SYNC cycle, and evolve SYNC at a faster cadence than is normal in
While Microsoft was evolving the technology, executives at the auto industry, matching the consumer electronics
the Ford Motor Company were also building on their vision - industry.
to reach broad numbers of drivers by developing an
affordable infotainment system with widespread market Accessing mobile phones, music players, and other
appeal. devices: Infotainment systems had to be technology-agnostic
to work with whatever handset or media player the driver
Ford was pursuing dual development tracks when it started brought into the vehicle.
discussions on in-car infotainment systems with Microsoft in
early 2006. One engineering group at Ford had a mandate to Democratizing in-vehicle infotainment technology
integrate simple audio input jacks for MP3 players in to a car; through software: Affordability and accessibility would be
another team was tasked with developing a Bluetooth critical to the infotainment product's success. Ford planned to
interface for hands-free telephone operation. introduce SYNC across multiple product lines, in both
economy and luxury vehicles.
The companies had a long history of working closely together
at the enterprise IT level. Occasionally, IT meetings turned Promoting hands-free use of cell phones and media
into discussions about how to grow and extend the Microsoft devices: Ford focused on voice recognition as a key
relationship at Ford. Microsoft also had representatives on technology for helping drivers keep their hands on the wheel
Ford's Digital Lifestyle Council, which provided a forum for and eyes on the road.
an extended interchange of marketing and engineering data
and insights. Recognizing Microsoft as an automotive software
supplier: The auto industry had built-in skepticism about the
Out of this relationship and the discussions it fostered, ability of software vendors to satisfy the special requirements
important new concepts emerged at Ford: traditionally met by Tier One OEMs. These include auto-
grade quality and parts scheduling, plus the need to run
Delivering value directly to consumers through software: reliably for decades or hundreds of thousands of miles.
Until then, software had been predefined by Tier One OEMs
such as Delphi and Motorola, as opposed to Ford having a Microsoft's years of experience in the vehicle infotainment
industry, coupled with the proven success of Fiat Blue&Me
and other projects, helped the software provider break
through skepticism at Ford.

“We took a hard look at Fiat Blue&Me and

concluded that Microsoft had an agnostic
approach that would allow us to build a
platform connecting to any consumer device.”

Jim Buczkowski, Director of Global

Electrical & Electronics Systems
Engineering, Ford

Technical Components of SYNC

Given the fast pace of technology evolution in the consumer
digital lifestyle, the close partnership between Ford and Figure 3. Windows Embedded Automotive 7 Stack,
Microsoft yielded important benefits. With Microsoft as a available October 2010
direct supplier, Ford gained a trusted and valued technical
advisor, one that provided strategic guidance on product
This technical expertise was harnessed to help deliver new
roadmaps and planning for upcoming protocols and
user experiences that would surprise and delight Ford
standards.
customers. The platform's rich development tools and API
allow Ford to develop new applications that synchronize with
The technical benefits of the Microsoft technology platform
social media programs, such as text-to-speech access to
for Ford were numerous. Since Windows Embedded
Twitter (via OpenBeak). Pandora Internet radio is another
Automotive software is started from flash memory, boot time
example of a cutting edge application that SYNC has
is reduced. With a staged boot process, the ability to control
introduced first in the vehicle infotainment space. Drivers use
the load order of drivers, and custom development geared
a built-in USB port and their own memory stick to update
towards speeding the boot process, devices running on the
SYNC software with these new and exciting applications
software can enable their first functionality in seconds.
without having to take the car to the dealer.
By 2009, the platform provided advanced software
components for the SYNC infotainment system (see Figure What is Ford SYNC
3), including: Ford SYNC is a factory-installed fully integrated in-vehicle
communications and entertainment system built on a
• Phone stack, SMS messaging, and other communications 400MHz Freescale i.MX31L processor with an ARM 11
software CPU core, and uses 256MB of 133MHz DDR SDRAM, 2GB
of NAND flash memory, and speech technology by Nuance
• Connectivity with LAN, WiFi, GPRS, Bluetooth, or USB
Communications. The SYNC computer is housed separately
• Hardware reference designs for rapid prototyping from the vehicle head unit and interfaces with all vehicle
audio sources as well as the high-speed and medium-speed
• Support for multiple CPUs - ARM, Intel, TI, and more vehicle CAN-buses.
• Media player with support for multiple file formats
SYNC provides drivers with hands-free voice-activated
• Rich set of visual development tools and Win32 Application control over mobile phones and digital music players, and
Programming Interface automatically connects phones and music players with the in-
vehicle microphone and sound system. It was the first
This powerful platform of standardized Windows technology infotainment system to use new media transports which made
allowed Ford to be more innovative and speed up the product the most popular media players work with SYNC, including
evolution cycle. Ford leveraged the knowledge and skill sets Apple iPod and Apple iPhone, Microsoft Zune, and MTP
of Windows desktop developers throughout the company to devices. Supported audio formats include MP3, AAC, WMA,
develop SYNC. Ford also expanded its vendor relationships, and WAV.
tapping into one of the largest pools of independent software
developers throughout the industry. Drivers can use SYNC to browse their music collections by
genre, album, artist, playlist and song title using simple voice
commands, such as “Play Genre: Rock,” “Play Artist:
[Name],” or “Play Track: [Song Title].” They can also
answer an incoming call with the push of a button, make a generated thousands of news articles in print, TV, radio and
call with speech recognition, browse an integrated internet outlets.
phonebook, see who is calling, view a call log, place a call on
hold, and more. SYNC can even receive text messages, read
them aloud, and interpret a hundred or so shorthand messages
such as LOL for “laughing out loud.”

Ford rapidly built updates and new features on top of the

Windows Embedded Automotive platform. One of the
updates was SYNC Traffic, Directions and Information
(TDI), developed in partnership with TellMe, a Microsoft
subsidiary. It provides hands-free access to traffic reports,
precise turn-by-turn driving directions, and up-to-date
business listings, news, sports, weather updates, and more.

Co-branding, Integrated Marketing, and PR

Microsoft marketing leaders convinced their counterparts at
Ford to use the Microsoft brand, align teams, and co-fund
marketing and PR efforts. This was a radical departure for
Ford, which traditionally advertised vehicles versus a specific Figure 4. Ford President Mark Fields and Microsoft
feature by itself. Ford's own research, however, indicated that Chairman Bill Gates jointly announce Ford SYNC on
January 7, 2010
the Microsoft name would give SYNC added credibility.2

“Consumers recognize the name Microsoft, The “SYNC, powered by Microsoft” marketing campaign
and it provides a level of confidence and featured creative concepts such as placing SYNC on the
assurance about what they are buying. Co- Xbox Live dashboard and on digital billboard ads directly
branding with Microsoft was a very positive within Transformers: The Game (see Figure 5).
step.”
Additional marketing programs included, a viral campaign on
Paul Mascarenas, Vice President, MySpace.com, which incorporated SYNC into Ford's
Engineering - Global Product Development, existing consumer events; featuring TV advertising for
Ford SYNC on popular network shows; and sending car dealers
SYNC-branded swag like posters and five-panel pop-up
Each company agreed to spend millions on a joint-marketing displays.
campaign, matching tactics to each partners' marketing
strengths - digital for Microsoft, consumer events and big The joint marketing and PR campaigns resulted in ongoing
media for Ford, and public relations for both. visibility for SYNC, including extensive press coverage and
15 awards for the product, all of which led to increasing
The marketing kick-off began with Microsoft and Ford consumer awareness, interest and demand.
formally announcing SYNC at the annual North American
International Auto Show in Detroit and at the Consumer Benefits to Ford and Ford Customers
Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7,
2007. SYNC continues to fuel Ford's positive business outlook. By
the end of 2009, SYNC was available on over 20 of Ford's
Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Ford President Mark Fields passenger vehicle models in North America, with the feature
presented the new infotainment system at the auto show, “take-rate” averaging approximately 70 percent across the
while Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates joined via live satellite vehicle line-up. The company has tracked business success
(see Figure 4). metrics for SYNC from several sources3 and reports the
following:
Immediately following the announcement at the auto industry
• The turnover rate of SYNC-equipped vehicles on dealer lots
show, Fields took a plane to Las Vegas, where he joined
is twice that of vehicles without SYNC.
Gates for his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics
Show. This successful strategy profiled the top executives at • The resale value of SYNC-equipped vehicles is more than
both companies making same-day announcements at two of $200 greater than vehicles without SYNC.
the most important industry tradeshows for consumers, and
 Figure 5. Ford SYNC ad in Microsoft Xbox 360 game Transformers: The Game

• SYNC was installed on the two-millionth vehicle less than a innovative in-vehicle infotainment devices. By building on an
year after hitting the one million unit milestone. industry leading platform with integrated infotainment
features and a rich UI framework, auto makers and suppliers
• After receiving SYNC demonstrations, 80 percent of
can quickly get to market differentiated solutions that connect
potential customers report it improves their opinion of Ford
with consumers. They can take advantage of powerful new
and 70 percent are more likely to consider purchasing a
features, including: multi core processor support; new
SYNC-equipped vehicle.
internet browser; rich interface with voice activation; new
• Among Ford customers who have SYNC on their vehicles - scenarios such as email and calendar support; and support for
and use its voice command features - 87 percent are satisfied hundreds of software components.
with how the system operates, and 88 percent would
recommend the purchase of a vehicle with SYNC to others. SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS
• Hands-free calling is used daily by two-thirds of SYNC The catalyst for collaboration between Microsoft and Ford
users, with 89 percent using the feature at least once a week. was their common vision of the mass consumer adoption of
• More than half of drivers use SYNC's voice-activated digital and communications products and how consumers'
dialing features, helping them keep their eyes on the road and rapidly growing digital lifestyle would influence the
hands on the steering wheel. development of in-vehicle infotainment systems. With Ford
SYNC, Microsoft and Ford have democratized in-vehicle
infotainment systems - delighting consumers and bringing a
Looking Ahead new kind of agility to the automobile industry.
In October 2010, Ford will launch a next-generation version
of SYNC, MyFord Touch, demonstrating the extensibility “Microsoft and Ford enjoy a long-standing
and innovation of the Microsoft platform. MyFord Touch will business relationship, and Microsoft is pleased
first launch on the 2011 Ford Edge (and as My Lincoln to be able to provide the software and services
Touch on the 2011 Lincoln MKX), then on the 2011 Ford foundation for Ford's in-vehicle infotainment
Explorer, followed by the all-new 2012 Ford Focus. systems with the Windows Embedded
Automotive platform. With Microsoft's
MyFord Touch redesigns the in-car interface, mirroring how platform, Ford can continue to quickly
consumers interact with most devices in their lives by using innovate and deliver engaging and interactive
touch-sensitive buttons, touch screens and voice recognition. solutions as demonstrated with their latest
It displays information using two 4.2-inch full-color LCD infotainment offering, MyFord Touch. We look
screens flanking an analog speedometer and an 8-inch touch- forward to the road ahead in our continued
screen LCD at the top of the center stack. A five-way switch partnership to deliver consumers the
on each side of the steering wheel crossbar - similar to the connected experiences they've come to crave.”
one found on most mobile phones and MP3 players - controls
the information displayed on the corresponding instrument Kevin Dallas, General Manager, Windows
panel screens. Embedded Business, Microsoft Corp.

Also in October 2010, Microsoft will launch Windows

Embedded Automotive 7, the new version of the award-
winning technology platform that powers unique and
 REFERENCES NAND
A type of flash memory commonly used for mass
1. Apple iPod portable media player launched in October storage application like digital cameras and MP3
2001. players
2. Microsoft and Ford were #3 and #49 respectively on the
Interbrand Best Global Brands list in 2008 and 2009. Source: SMS
http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx Short Message Service
3. Data points are from various Ford internal market research
reports and market data tracking systems, including a March WAV
2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey. Waveform Audio File Format

CONTACT INFORMATION WMA

Mukund Ghangurde Windows Media Audio
Microsoft Corp.
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98057
p: 425.882.8080
f: 425.936.7329

DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS
AAC
Advanced Audio Coding

IAP
Integrated Access Point

LAN
Local Area Network

MP3
An audio file format, based on MPEG (Moving
Picture Expert Group) technology

MTP
Mail Transfer Protocol

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doi:10.4271/2010-01-2319