About:
Ford, founded in 1903, is one of the leading automobile companies in the United States. Currently, Ford has operations in over 125 countries across the globe. Let us familarise you to the Ford innovation strategy.
Idea and Implementation
To promote innovation in the company and invite ideas, Ford issued an invention challenge worldwide. The goal was to create future ”last mile” mobility solutions for urban areas. The idea was to assist people to get around a city easily, where vehicles are not permitted.
Killian Vas, a Systems Engineer, based in Cologne, Germany, had already identified the difficulty of urban traveling. He responded to Ford’s challenge by inventing Carr-E, a four-wheeled electric pedestrian helper. He implemented it in collaboration with his team.
Killian noticed the empty space in his car’s wheel well, and this inspired him to make Carr-E compact and circular. Carr-E could transport people or objects weighing up to 120kg, travel as fast as 11mph, avoid obstacles with sensors, and follow an electrical transmitter for directions.
“We really need to reinvent the wheel, to find new approaches to mobility, when developing the Carr-E, I was inspired by Ford’s expansion into both an auto and a mobility company, but I’m also aware of how rapidly cities are growing and how getting around urban areas will become progressively more complicated. I really wanted to create a device that makes commuting easier and more fun.” – Kilian Vas
Results:
Carr-E was a welcome city transport alternative and was one solution to future urban transport. Once again, Ford innovation strategy captured an employee’s idea and solved the issue.
Ideas like this have the potential to impact future innovations and solve existing problems faced by the community. An idea, they say, can change lives and your or your employee’s idea could result in the next billion-dollar product for your organization. Want to benefit from life-changing ideas? Get your hands on our idea management tool, InspireIp Ideas, and as a bonus, you get the first 25 ideas for free. Get the tool here!
