Ford Drives into the Future with Open Innovation
Every week there are new stories about companies launching open innovation and crowdsourcing initiatives. They hope they can successfully convert the awesome brainpower of the crowd into concrete innovations that propel them ahead in the marketplace.
One of the latest corporate giants to initiate an exciting new open innovation venture is the Ford Motor Company.
The multinational automobile maker has revealed plans of its Innovate Mobility Challenge Series to come up with novel mobility solutions in eight locations around the world.
Those locations are Lisbon in Portugal, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Delhi and the Chennai region in India, Shanghai, Johannesburg and the whole of Argentina.
Each region hosts a competition where Ford will partner with local authorities and experts to develop solutions for the different issues facing each area.
Among the challenges are:
Parking Lot 2.0 – take parking into the 21st century – Los Angeles
City Mobility Challenge – improve how goods and services are delivered in Lisbon
Monsoon App Downpour – develop a software solution that will help to improve mobility during Mumbai’s monsoon season
Johannesburg Challenge – add value to vehicles by creative new accessories
Prize money is on offer for the winning solutions, and they will be judged by a panel of Ford executives and local experts.
Smarter Solutions
Paul Mascarenas, Ford’s chief technical officer and vice president, Research and Innovation commented:
“Launching our Innovate Mobility Challenge Series in eight different regions will bring global and local players together in the pursuit of one goal, which is a smarter and more efficient transportation network for the future.”
Innovation Aid
Participants can use Ford’s OpenXC program, a non-production, open-source, software and hardware platform. It allows them to work on DIY projects using real-time vehicle data.
Add your Comment
[LOGIN FIRST] if you're already a member.fields are required.