Coming To The NAB Show: A ‘Connected Car Hackathon’

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The “connected car” is not only set to be a focal point of discussions among 2017 NAB Show attendees in Las Vegas in two weeks, but is also set to be the center of attention for tech wizards.


Ford Motor Company is teaming up with Detroit-based mobile app developer jācapps to produce a unique event on the convention floor expressly for coders and developers, the “Connected Car Hackathon.”

These techies will be invited to participate in a competition to develop dashboard solutions designed to enable audio and video content for in-vehicle consumption in today’s vehicles, and in autonomous vehicles in the future.

Bob Kernen, COO of jācapps, will participate in the judging.

He remarks, “Ford has led the way in the Connected Car since the beginning. As a partner in the Ford Developer Program, jācapps is dedicated to helping provide solutions for broadcasters to ensure their presence, whether it’s via AM/FM radio, mobile applications, or other solutions being developed. Events like the Hackathon will bring broadcasters inside of the process to better understand the necessity to develop an in-car mobile strategy.”

The organizer of the Hackathon is Scott Burnell, the Global Lead of Business Development and Partner Management of the Ford Developer Program. Burnell will be the keynote speaker at the Radio Luncheon, illustrating the importance of the “connected car” to the radio industry.

“The question I hear a lot from broadcasters is, ‘How do we compete in today’s digital dashboard?’ and ‘Won’t autonomous vehicles bring all sorts of new challenges?'” he said. “This Hackathon is a great way to kick start not only the thought process toward keeping content in the car, but to get technical teams actually working on it.”

The Hackathon will kick off with an AppLink master class on Monday, April 24, where participants will be introduced to the architecture behind AppLink and the SDL platform. Then hackers will take center stage through Wednesday in the FordDev exhibit, working on innovative connected apps. All teams on Thursday, April 27 will present their projects for a group of industry professionals. First Prize is a $5,000 reward.

The Hackathon will be staged at Booth N2503 and also sees the support of NextRadio and iHeartRadio.

Want to participate in the Hackathon? Click here to join the fun in Las Vegas.

RBR + TVBR RELATED READ: Greater Media Rocker First To Get jācapps