Ford Names MyStreetCred App Winner of SYNC AppLink Developer Conference

Ford hosted its second annual SYNCŽ AppLink™ Developer Conference to challenge and educate developers on creating new applications that enhance the in-car user experience

Driving report card app MyStreetCred, created by a team of developers from the Digital Innovation agency, Rockfish, earned the grand prize in the Ford-sponsored app developer hackathon held at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco

MyStreetCred team leveraged Ford SYNC AppLink application programming interface to create an innovative app that provides a report card on driving habits

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sept. 23, 2015; Ford selected MyStreetCred, an app that monitors driving habits and provides users with a driving report card, as the winner of the Ford SYNC AppLink Developer Conference at TechCrunch Disrupt this past weekend.

“We’re thrilled to see the innovation and ideas from the teams that participated in this year’s Developer Conference,” said Scott Burnell, global lead, partner management, Ford developer program. “MyStreetCred stood out because of its innovative use of the new SYNC AppLink developer tools that leverage vehicle information to create dynamic apps in the car.”

Ford invited mobile app developers from around the world to join the global Ford developer team at the second annual SYNC AppLink Developer Conference, which was held in San Francisco for the first time.

MyStreetCred monitors driving habits to provide users with a driving report card. Rockfish developers Kyle Alderman, Warner Skoch, Lauren Pels and Jarrod Ramsey leveraged the latest set of AppLink application programming interfaces and the new capabilities of SYNC 3 – including real-time information from vehicle sensors on speed, location, braking patterns and fuel economy – to create the app.

The Rockfish team designed the app to help users better understand how driving habits can impact fuel efficiency and safety – letting them know if they’re driving too fast in inclement weather or if they’re hitting the brakes too hard. The team plans to continue enhancing the app and is considering future applications, such as allowing parents to monitor their children’s driving habits or providing insurance benefits to drivers who earn a good driving score.

This marks the second year the Rockfish developers participated in the Ford Developer Conference, and they enjoyed working with the Ford team to bring their idea to life.

“Ford provides a terrific platform for developing apps for the connected car,” said Alderman. Skoch added they’re looking forward to joining Ford again next year.

Ford-sponsored hackathon

Following the conference, Ford challenged developers to create original apps leveraging the features of all-new AppLink and SYNC 3, including the system’s capacitive touch screen, improved voice recognition and image display capabilities to enhance the in-car experience for customers. More than 70 people worked with Ford SYNC software development kits during the 24-hour hackathon. Thirteen teams participating in Ford’s challenge presented their ideas to a panel of judges and audience members on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage.

As grand prize winner, MyStreetCred will join Ford at the 2016 International CES in Las Vegas. Ford will also host its first-ever AppLink Developer Challenge in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 11-12.

More information about Ford’s developer program is available at Ford Developer.