I submitted the following ideas to Ford to improve the voice commands:-
1) Voice command to switch on/off the heated seats.
2) Voice command to switch on/off the heated steering wheel.
3) Voice command to switch on/off the heated rear window.
4) Voice command to switch on/off the heated windscreen.
5) Voice command to switch on/off max defrost.
Ford rejected my idea, not giving any specific reason, apart from what seems like a standard/automated answer shown below:-
‘If your idea was eligible for review per the Rules, Terms and Conditions of our website, evaluation has been based on many factors, but two major elements are: 1) improvement upon current technology, and 2) cost. Our technical specialists have reviewed your idea and concluded that Ford will not be investigating further development of your particular idea, nor acquiring any rights on your behalf.’
Anything you have to do which distracts you from concentrating on driving is a real safety issue. Many accidents are caused due to driving distraction. When my ‘butt’ is burning and I want to turn off the heated seat, I have to press the touch screen twice, which I find is a big distraction. From Ford’s response, it would seem that safety is not particularly high on their priority list…I sincerely hope not! Everything on the Mach-e’s central screen is software controlled, so to improve the Voice Commands is purely down to writing additional code.
You can use the Voice Command to set the temperature (e.g. Set temperature to 22degC) which saves you having to look down at the screen to change the temperature which is a detraction from driving. Accessing Voice Commands is activated by either pressing the button on the steering wheel or using a Voice Command to activate Voice Commands (I use ‘ok Ford’).
As I understand it, Ford are looking at using Alexa and maybe Siri (?) to add Voice Commands.
The FordPass App could therefore be linked to the central screen with the above Voice Commands added to the App. This means your Phone needs to be in non sleep mode and the Alexa App open for Alexa voice commands to work.
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