Ford is using hackers to improve your commute – and change how we think about cars

Curtis Moldrich Read more November 13, 2015

In Cologne last week, Ford locked 50 hackers into a room for 30 hours. Their goal? To revolutionise how we use transport – by turning your commute into a game.

Set up in collaboration with Cologne Game Lab, the hackathon saw the hackers work in groups, and use the benefits of gamification to optimise the way we use different modes of transport.

Two finalist teams from the Cologne hackathon will have until 11 January to finalise their concepts before they join another four finalists. After all that, a winner will be chosen from the three best projects at Mobile World Congress on 22 February. As well as the chance to see their app used by Ford, the finalists are competing for €17,500 (£12,400) in funds – including a €10,000 (£7,000) prize for the winner. smart_mobility_hackathon_ford_2

Inner-city stress

All the statistics say it: our cities are becoming overcrowded, as a journey into London at 8am makes plain. Whatever you use to help make the trip more bearable – whether it’s Citymapper, Apple Maps, the TFL website or something else – the daily commute is one of the most stressful journeys for city dwellers.

Ford’s Smart Mobility project wants to change this. “We’re conducting experiments to find out what products and services and information could improve people’s mobility experience – particularity in cities and urban areas,” says Will Farrelly, user experience innovation, Ford Smart Mobility, Ford of Europe.

The way we travel has changed

According to Ford’s research, the way we travel is changing. “We see a great deal of change starting to happen in transport through digital services,” says Farrelly.

“We see a great deal of change starting to happen in transport”

Apps have taught us to use a variety of transport options, rather than sticking to one mode of travel. “We see from our research that, when people adopt an urban lifestyle – especially if they’re not a car owner – their mobility patterns are very multi-modal,” he says.

“They use lots of modes of transport depending on what they’re trying to do. On a Friday night, you’re more likely to pay for a taxi, and more willing to justify the premium for that, but during the day you’re more likely to want a tube or a taxi or a Boris bike.”

However, Ford thinks we still aren’t getting the most out of our transport services. He’s looking for ways to make our journeys more efficient and less stressful. Which is where games come into it.

Games for good

The process of gamification is a tried and tested process. It has already had some success in the search for a cure for Aids, and there’s every chance it could improve the way we travel. “If we look at applied games, we see several prominent examples like Foldit, which is a game that’s made by the University of Washington,” says Professor Björn Bartholdy, director of the Cologne Games Lab.

“A game is always a context, a base that you define”

At their heart, games are about finding the best way around a set of rules, and that makes them a perfect fit when it comes to optimising mobility. “A game is always a context, a base that you define. Inside the game, rules define the kind of conflict that you face as a player,” Bartholdy says.

“Your goal as a player is to compete or get along, conquer this systemic order to be the first one or the first one on a list, so it’s kind of intrinsic motivation.”

Unlike travelling apps, games offer reward and therefore engagement. Ford hopes they will alleviate our stress, which should make them easier to use in the process. Hackers were challenged to create new concepts around three diversifiers: AR, Barcelona and Smartwatch, and they produced some pretty interesting results. Some of the concepts in the hackathon used gamification to help drivers save fuel, while others tried to make multi-modal transport easier to understand.

The six Ford Smart Mobility Game Challenge finalists are:

deCommute – a route-planning game, with users competing in teams to reach milestones such as distance travelled, and also earning points for adventurous, energy- and time-efficient journeys.
ECO Saviour – a multiplayer game that rewards players for reducing smog levels in a virtual version of their city by awarding “pollution points” based on how they travel in the real world.
Jaunt – an interactive tool that matches users with travel companions for regular commutes and spur-of-the-moment outings, to save money, make new friends and travel safely.
moopi – a Smart Mobility Hackathon-winning app concept that enables users to nurture a “moopi” avatar by adapting their journeys to make the most efficient use of the road network.
SelfieGo – a selfie-challenge app that livens up commutes with a GPS-enabled map that shows the optimal route to take selfies at a city’s major attractions, and enables them to be shared on social media.
wave-calmer – a Smart Mobility Hackathon-winning concept that turns traffic jams into a game by encouraging drivers to maintain a steady speed using graphics projected on to the windscreen, helping traffic move more smoothly and preventing accidents.

“This could also help the transport system, balancing demand, or make people aware of when certain tube lines are really busy or when it’s a good time to use your car,” added Farrelly.

“The fresh perspectives and innovative ideas delivered by developers through the Ford Smart Mobility Game Challenge demonstrate the potential for gaming to have a hugely positive impact on the next generation of transport solutions.”

Usership and the changing role of the car

But why would one of the world’s biggest car companies want to help us get the bus or the train?

Rather than improving the way we use public transport, Ford wants to optimise the way we use transport in general – and that includes the use of cars. Farrelly imagines an application that can tell us when to walk, when to use the car, when to use public transport – and when to use a combination.

This idea wouldn’t have worked in the past, but the growing trend of usership – or renting a car without buying it – means such ideas are now possible. “This is a new customer base for us at Ford,” says Farrelly. “We have a very large existing customer base globally, people who are very happy, they love buying and owning and using cars and trucks. But we have a potential for a new urban mobility customer base.

“Through digital tools, we can create new services that mean these people could have on-demand journey planning that benefits their lifestyles and needs. We think there’s a whole new business opportunity on the table.

“Quite what the solution is – or solutions are – we’re still working on as part of these experiments.”

By embracing gamification and the concept of usership – two trends that are intrinsically linked with the future of tech – Ford has definitely taken the right track. Where does it lead? We’re not sure yet.