Europe News: Ford applies mobile phone logic to HMI
When Ford decided to make the Mondeo’s advanced features as easy to use as a mobile phone, that’s exactly where they looked for inspiration – the mobile phone.
This led to the development of the Ford HMI that enables drivers to find their way round the new Mondeo’s phone, cruise control and audio systems without major distraction.
Brilliant in its simplicity, navigating the Ford HMI menu via the steering wheel-mounted buttons – the four universally familiar left, right, up and down buttons surrounding the central “OK” button – is no more daunting than operating a cell-phone.
According to Ford supervisor Dr Stefan Becker,if you were to get into the new Mondeo having never driven the car, you can answer a Bluetooth-connected phone, set the speed or change the music without needing to refer to the owner’s manual.
Becker highlights simple everyday tasks as actions that are intuitive: “We do not have to think about how to use a door handle. Ford HMI offers the same intuitive pathway through new Mondeo's many technologies so drivers do not have to learn new systems.”
In addition to Ford HMI menus appearing on a five-inch screen located in the centre console, all information is replicated on the main instrument display. This allows key information to be visible in the driver’s direct line of sight between the dials. The display ranges from a standard monochrome screen using red illumination to the highest specification colour display.
The front passenger is able to access different systems and to regulate personal settings in the centre console.
Becker, whose first job at Ford in 2002 was to define a HMI system to fit across the Ford model range, says that the new Mondeo has been his favourite Ford project, not just because it’s a current project, but because it has challenged Ford to examine closely how customers think in relation to cars' processes and functions.
