CES: Ford, Microsoft's Attempt To Compete With GM On Safety Falls ShortCES: Ford, Microsoft's Attempt To Compete With GM On Safety Falls Short

The Sync system in 2008 Ford autos, co-developed with Microsoft, certainly has that cool factor, my favorite being the ability to tell your iPod what song to play (wish I had that in my 2007 Ford, which just has the built-in media port). Bill Gates announced at CES that Sync will soon offer a safety feature, yet it doesn't appear to be nearly as extensive as what GM offers with OnStar.Sync, announced at last year's Consumer Electronics Show and based on Windows CE, offers hands-free calling and pre-programmed text messaging in addition to media player features. On Jan. 6, Bill Gates said Ford will add "911 Assist" to Sync, a feature that calls a 911 operator if an auto's air bag deploys.

Nice feature, but it doesn't measure up to the abilities of OnStar and the huge investment General Motors has made in safety technologies, based on what I learned about OnStar during a tour of GM's headquarters a few weeks ago. But let's break it down ... this is what Ford has to say about 911 Assist:

--When a driver's cell phone is properly paired, turned on, and connected to Sync (which Ford says is designed to happen every time the driver enters the vehicle with her cell phone), Sync will automatically call a 911 emergency operator following an air bag deployment. Before making the 911 call, Sync will provide a 10-second window to allow the driver to cancel the call if emergency help isn't required.

--Ford notes there are no intermediaries (such as the adviser call centers used with GM's OnStar system), so Sync "should reach 911 operators faster than competitive systems," according to the press release. If the driver doesn't respond, a 911 operator can determine the vehicle's location through voice-signal triangulation using the driver's cell phone, or, on some phones, the GPS location feature.

Now let's take a look at OnStar:

--If an accident occurs, sensors throughout a car automatically alert OnStar's data center in Michigan via a cellular network that an impact has occurred, as well as what parts of the auto received impact. The information is processed and instantly routed to OnStar advisers trained to handle emergency response (as opposed to other OnStar calls, such as for route directions) in one of three centers in the United States and Canada.

--Once alerted, an OnStar adviser will call a driver through the hands-free, in-car phone system if the driver doesn't call in. The adviser can pass details about impact sent by the sensors on to local 911 operators to ensure emergency response personnel bring the right equipment. If OnStar is alerted to a serious impact to a vehicle yet the driver doesn't respond, the adviser will send emergency services to the driver's GPS coordinates.

--GM also has an OnStar command center in its downtown Detroit headquarters, staffed with analysts who monitor the IT infrastructure that supports OnStar, monitor adviser center performance, and keep track of call patterns and trends on maps of North America and metropolitan regions located on large overhead screens. Satellite weather maps and news feeds help analysts anticipate conditions or events that may affect service or subscribers. During the San Diego wildfires last year, OnStar provided free additional services to some 240,000 subscribers.

So, to sum it up, GM's OnStar system, developed over more than 10 years, is far more technologically complex than the Sync approach. It has a built-in phone/communications system which, unfortunately, requires auto owners to keep another phone number in addition to their cell phone, but fortunately doesn't require the subscriber's cell phone to be in the car and working in the case of an accident. Vehicles always are located through the car's GPS system.

Further, Sync's 911 Assist feature is built entirely around the air bag deployment. If no air bag is deployed, no help will be called. In comparison, I find the sensor technology in the GM vehicles downright fascinating and impressive in its ability to wirelessly alert OnStar's back-end systems with impact details.

So yes, there are extra steps and more complexity with OnStar, and that's likely to prove challenging as GM attempts to expand the service into China and other countries. And I can't see any way an automaker could pull off such a complex response system without a data center working in the middle to sort out the nature of the various calls coming in.

With such complexity, there's always the risk of system IT failures that could affect response time. But when it comes to a comprehensive safety response system, Sync's 911 Assist is no OnStar.