Ford is creating a safer and healthier driving experience with in-car allergy alerts.
By Edward Lord
It only takes a moment of impaired vision to compromise a driver’s safety. That’s why the engineers at Ford, in its continued efforts to address driver health and safety, have set sights on helping to ease the burden of seasonal allergies—and the blurry eyes that come with them.
The first point of attack was interior materials. Ten years ago, Ford of Europe assembled a Vehicle Interior Environment Quality team to test over 100 materials for potential contact allergies. They found that by minimizing allergenic materials and skin irritants like latex and hexavalent chromium in high-touch areas, they could create a much healthier space for drivers. The initiative has since been brought to North American operations, and is rapidly becoming a common feature; Both the Fiesta and Focus meet Ford VIEQ specifications, as will all newly released models—that’s nothing to sneeze at.
In addition to interior materials quality, Ford has explored ways of utilizing SYNC® with MyFord Touch® to monitor chronic illnesses like allergies and diabetes, and warn drivers of potential flare-ups based on data on their condition that is collected and stored in the cloud.
Beyond simply easing the symptoms of chronic illnesses, this initiative aims to improve driver safety by helping to ensure motor functions aren’t impaired by a driver’s conditions. “We started with two goals: Change the paradigm of SYNC from being purely infotainment-focused, and expand the notion of automotive safety,” says Gary Strumolo, manager of vehicle design and infotronics at Ford. “Using information from the driver and the environment to monitor and regulate health conditions can be a powerful tool for safety.”
The first offering is IMS Health’s Allergy Alert app for SYNC AppLink, which uses the car’s GPS to identify allergens in its current location, and alerts drivers based on their stated allergies. Ford has also experimented with a glucose monitoring system, which Medtronic created a prototype for in 2011, that actually connects to the driver’s body and warns them if their blood sugar dips.
“The reality is that most people never get into a serious auto accident,” says Strumolo. “If they have a chronic illness, however, they suffer from that every day. If we want to really broaden the notion of auto safety, we need to address the concerns people have on a daily basis.”