OREANDA-NEWS. June 05, 2015. Toyota Motor Corporation has reached an agreement with Ford Motor Company to explore collaboration with Livio, a Ford subsidiary, for the implementation of SmartDeviceLink (SDL) technology in future Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

"We continue to investigate new technologies that both enhance and safeguard the driving experience of Toyota and Lexus owners," said Shigeki Terashi, Senior Managing Officer, Toyota Motor Corporation. "The in-car app market is quickly evolving. Developing robust, flexible, safe and user-friendly connected services is a priority for us, and one that we believe is shared by Ford, Livio and other contributors to SDL technology."

SDL is an open source platform created to facilitate smartphone applications including entertainment, traffic, parking and other data from the internet for use in in-car infotainment systems; and those apps can be easily accessed using voice recognition, display screens, and dashboard controls. Besides its seamless ease of operation, the benefits of SDL technology include the ability for developers to design an app only one time, yet have it work across multiple infotainment systems. This saves development time and allows apps to be introduced more quickly to a wider audience.

In August 2011, Toyota and Ford agreed to collaborate on development of next generation standards for in-car telematics to enable a safer, more secure and more convenient driving experience. Today's announcement builds on that earlier collaboration.