Ford teams up with Techstars Mobility start-ups

The Ford Motor Company is to collaborate with three 2016 Techstars Mobility start-ups, Spatial, HAAS Alert and Cargo, to pursue next-generation mobility solutions, including navigation, connectivity and ride-sharing initiatives. Spatial is a Cincinnati-based company that provides a dynamic, human-driven layer of social intelligence to create mapping and navigation. Chicago-based HAAS Alert is a connected notification platform that warns motorists when emergency vehicles are approaching, while Cargo, a New Y
September 9, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

The 278 Ford Motor Company is to collaborate with three 2016 Techstars Mobility start-ups, Spatial, HAAS Alert and Cargo, to pursue next-generation mobility solutions, including navigation, connectivity and ride-sharing initiatives.

Spatial is a Cincinnati-based company that provides a dynamic, human-driven layer of social intelligence to create mapping and navigation. Chicago-based HAAS Alert is a connected notification platform that warns motorists when emergency vehicles are approaching, while Cargo, a New York-based in-vehicle general store, helps ride-share drivers cater to passengers.

Techstars Mobility, a Ford-sponsored initiative now in its second year, was designed to further the automaker’s mission to enhance next-generation mobility solutions while helping start-up companies get their footing in business.

The three companies will continue working with Ford to advance the automaker’s mission to enhance smart mobility. Spatial blends human-driven data such as social media content with machine-assisted analysis to impact how people use maps.

HAAS Alert aims to create intelligent traffic solutions by providing emergency vehicle data to drivers. The Ford-supported pilot program is launching in metro Detroit.

Cargo endeavours to enhance the ride-share experience for both drivers and passengers. Cargo kits, sent directly to ride-share drivers who purchase them, are stocked with products on-the-go passengers commonly want, such as snacks.

“The possibilities are endless when you combine the experience and influence of a storied company like Ford with the energy and innovation of these inspiring start-ups,” said Bill Coughlin, president and CEO, Ford Global Technologies. “This year’s Techstars Mobility program has truly exemplified that, and we’re thrilled to continue working with Spatial, HAAS Alert and Cargo.”

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS advancement lays beyond benefit-cost analysis
    May 29, 2013
    Shelley Row, former Director of the US Department of Transportation’s ITS Joint Program Office, gives her views on the way forward for the industry. We, as intelligent transportation system (ITS) proponents and engineers, tend to be overly fixated on benefit-cost data. We want decisions to be made on logical grounds for which benefit-cost calculations are optimal. While benefit-cost data is necessary, it is not always sufficient. We can learn from our history where we see three broad groups of ITS deploymen
    Read More
  • Avis launches mobility lab to test connected cars, Kansas City
    December 7, 2017
    Avis Budget Group (ABG) has launched a Mobility Lab to test a fleet of 5,000 connected vehicles across 20 car rental locations which include Kansas City International Airport, Nebraska’s Eppley Airfield and Lincoln Airport. The test aims to provide a seamless connection between Avis’ fleet management platform and its mobile app while creating opportunities to collaborate with municipalities on Smart City initiatives around the world. Passengers renting from airport and off-airport locations can make change
    Read More
  • Workzone safety can be economically viable
    October 24, 2014
    David Crawford looks how workzone safety can be ‘economically viable’. Highway maintenance is one of the most dangerous construction industry occupations in Europe. Research from The Netherlands on fatal crashes indicates that the risk facing road workzone operatives is ‘significantly higher’ than that for the general construction workforce. A survey carried out by the Highways Agency, which runs the UK’s motorway and trunk road network, has suggested that 20% of road workers have suffered injuries from pa
    Read More
  • Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    July 26, 2012
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
    Read More

Highlighted Content