Ford Introduces Open Innovation Approach, Launches Innovate Mobility Challenge Series

Ford, the Blue Oval company has launched the Mobility Challenge Series, which invites developers and manufacturers to come together to find innovative mobility solutions at eight different locations around the world. The competition will start from July 15, 2014 in Lisbon, (Portugal) Los Angeles, (United States), and Mumbai, (India). After that the competition will move to Delhi and Chennai region in India, Shanghai (China), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Argentina.
Paul Mascarenas, Ford’s chief technical officer and vice president, Research and Innovation said, “Reaching out to local stakeholders lets Ford more effectively address the diverse mobility challenges around the world.”

He also said, “Launching our Innovate Mobility Challenge Series in eight different regions will bring global and local players together in the pursuit of one goal, which is a smarter and more efficient transportation network for the future.

Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility was first announced by company’s Executive Chairman Bill Ford. It outlines automaker’s understanding on the what type of transportation will look like in 2025 and beyond. Therefore, the automaker uses the technologies, business models and partnerships in a best possible way.  

Different cities, different needs

The company designed each challenge in a specific way to address the concerning issues in the particular city.  For example, in Mumbai, the water logging in monsoon season which hinders the transportation in quite a devastating way.  The Monsoon App Downpour Challenge in Mumbai will focus on leveraging vehicles and information to improve mobility during inclement weather. Mumbai’s submission period will run from July 15 to October 14, with the winners announced in November.
While in Delhi, the SUMURR Golden Hour Challenge developers will create a software which decrease the time to get to care to improve health outcomes within the critical “Golden Hour” after a traumatic incident. The submission period will run from July 30 to October 30.
Moreover, in Chennai the SUMURR mHealth Challenge will focus on leveraging information to extend health services for remote rural regions accessible from Chennai. The submission period will run from July 30 to October 30.

K. Venkatesh Prasad, senior technical leader, Open Innovation, Ford Motor Company said, “With these challenges, we’re reaching out to the best minds in the developer community, because we know that no single company or individual holds the answer. Local problems need local solutions, and we want to encourage that.”

Prize information and challenge requirement

For the the first three competitions of the Innovate Mobility Challenge Series – Mumbai, Lisbon and Los Angeles, Ford is offering prizes totaling S$30,000 for each challenge, with a grand prize of US$15,000 for the winner of each.