Welcome to the age of online meetings. Now more than ever, people are working from home (or in their car). Ford and Cisco have teamed up to make life easier for those who need to attend a meeting on the road. Here’s how Ford and Cisco teamed up to make your Ford electric vehicle a mobile meeting space. Automotive technology keeps pushing forward.

Ford and Cisco think the perfect meeting space is inside your Ford

Ford and Cisco have your back if you’re constantly on the move but need to attend work meetings. It’s the perfect solution for someone who needs to attend their child’s sporting event, pick them up from school, or do another activity that involves being away from home. Wherever the destination, Ford drivers won’t have to reschedule their online work meeting.

According to KBB, upcoming electric vehicles, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, will use Cisco’s WebEx technology. Moreover, the system will be embedded into the infotainment system, and drivers will have control over meetings using voice commands. The system will operate in an audio-only mode unless the car is parked for safety purposes. Video meetings are possible while the vehicle isn’t in use to eliminate distracted driving. Lastly, the system can filter out sounds from the inside of the cabin to avoid disturbing coworkers.

Ford EVs will become a mobile meeting space

Over the years, more and more features entered the industry to turn trucks and vans into mobile offices. Productivity features like built-in Wi-Fi, fancy tailgates that turn into a standing desk, and more make life easier for workers on the road. Thanks to this partnership between Ford and Cisco, a real home office space can be found inside Ford EVs.

For now, this feature is only coming to the electric vehicles entering the Ford lineup. However, the automaker explicitly stated that there’s no reason the same feature couldn’t work in internal combustion-powered models. However, Ford recently split its EVs into a separate business from the ICE models. Does that mean features could be delayed going from one to another? Darren Palmer, Vice President of Ford’s Electric Vehicle Programs, told KBB that he recently spent eight hours taking meetings inside an F-150 Lightning. More importantly, he mentioned that it “barely touched the range of the vehicle.”

Ford electric vehicles coming soon

There are plenty of electric vehicles coming from Ford that are likely to include this new feature. Cisco and Ford teaming up is an excellent partnership that could (hopefully) result in more great automotive technology in the future. Ford’s lineup of EVs coming soon includes the already available Mustang Mach-E, which does not have mobile meeting space capability. However, it may be a new feature for the next model year or become available through a software update.

Next, the Ford F-150 Lighting electric pickup truck is coming soon and will allow for in-car meetings. We expect the E-Transit to have the same capability, which would make it the perfect work van. Lastly, since Ford said the feature is only coming to EVs, we’re unsure if that includes PHEVs and hybrids. If it does, look for the Maverick, Escape Hybrid and PHEV, Explorer Hybrid, and F-150 Hybrid to gain the same capability.

Ford and Cisco make your car a mobile meeting space

Ford and Cisco have teamed up to turn your car into the perfect mobile meeting space. With excellent features like noise filtering, coworkers won’t be bothered that you’re not in a home office. Additionally, owners can’t use video while driving thanks to safety precautions. This is an excellent way to allow voice recognition for audio meetings while driving but prevent distraction from video calls. Watch out for the new Ford and Cisco mobile meeting space technology coming to new Ford EVs soon.