Ford Motor Company intends to rely on the Google Prediction API so that it is capable of predicting driver behavior – and hence, harvest such information in order to make vehicles perform even better. The whole idea of using cloud-based storage and computing in order to collect and process information on how drivers use their vehicles is not new, but at least the technology is available in this day and age to maximize its usefulness. Such resources can be accessed via a wireless network, where a vehicle is capable of automatically changing how it performs – at least in Ford’s books.
The Google Prediction API that was rolled out in 2010 by Google Labs was specially designed to deliver an application information concerning past user actions, letting it better predict future behavior. Basically, the more you use it, the smarter and better it becomes, leading to a snowball effect. The API (application programming interface) itself relies on pattern-matching and machine learning, where it was specially designed to be simple to use.
Ford intends to roll out one conceptual case for the use of this technology in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sometime down the road, although there is no guarantee that such technology will arrive in roadworthy vehicles anytime soon with 2015 being the earliest at best.