mpcmotorsports Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Can someone here tell me what these black box things are on the roof of the 2020 Ford Super Duty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick johnson nm Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Strictly a guess: cameras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Those are the new antennae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Related. Someone told me by 2020MY (or maybe 2021MY) ALL US Ford products would have a 4G (maybe even 5G?) compatible cell phone connection and Ford could push out software updates for various different control modules. Entertainment (Sync) for sure and maybe a few years later, Powertrain and Body (do they still call it the Smart Junction Box?) . ABS ? Not likely on the little "jelly bean" modules. This was going to be a major cost hit for the PCM and likely the other modules. (Discussion was, they need to be able to store the entire new code so thay they could verify it was correct and then swap it in after a "key OFF".) Also related : While there are dozens and dozens of modules in each vehicle that vast majority of them are "black boxes". That is, a spec is written, Purchasing choose a supplier and the device is built including the software. Ford may own the algorithms and but they do own the "image". The only two devices that have mostly "in house" software are Sync and the PCM. Maybe the SJB. The big issue with "in house" software development is that the Ford IT department is slow (non-existent?) in providing the necessary tools (hardware and software) to develop this software. While software development is no longer an "art", but a well understood "science", Ford does not necessarily follow "software industry standards". Again no help from IT. (Most software engineers at Ford consider IT a burden rather than an asset.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying68 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 1 hour ago, theoldwizard said: Related. Someone told me by 2020MY (or maybe 2021MY) ALL US Ford products would have a 4G (maybe even 5G?) compatible cell phone connection and Ford could push out software updates for various different control modules. Entertainment (Sync) for sure and maybe a few years later, Powertrain and Body (do they still call it the Smart Junction Box?) . ABS ? Not likely on the little "jelly bean" modules. This was going to be a major cost hit for the PCM and likely the other modules. (Discussion was, they need to be able to store the entire new code so thay they could verify it was correct and then swap it in after a "key OFF".) Also related : While there are dozens and dozens of modules in each vehicle that vast majority of them are "black boxes". That is, a spec is written, Purchasing choose a supplier and the device is built including the software. Ford may own the algorithms and but they do own the "image". The only two devices that have mostly "in house" software are Sync and the PCM. Maybe the SJB. The big issue with "in house" software development is that the Ford IT department is slow (non-existent?) in providing the necessary tools (hardware and software) to develop this software. While software development is no longer an "art", but a well understood "science", Ford does not necessarily follow "software industry standards". Again no help from IT. (Most software engineers at Ford consider IT a burden rather than an asset.) Most corporate IT departments are not focused on software development for customer applications, they are focused on internal hardware and business operations software compatibility and operability. Think SAP, CAD, Databases, etc. Software development is an engineering function, not an IT function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpcmotorsports Posted January 6, 2020 Author Share Posted January 6, 2020 On 1/4/2020 at 10:01 PM, fordmantpw said: Those are the new antennae. For what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY93SHO Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) 59 minutes ago, mpcmotorsports said: For what? Sirius/XM, Ford Pass, navigation, wifi, etc. Used to be the "shark fin" on the front of the cab, now it's two modules on the back. Edited January 6, 2020 by MY93SHO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 20 hours ago, Flying68 said: Most corporate IT departments are not focused on software development for customer applications, they are focused on internal hardware and business operations software compatibility and operability. Think SAP, CAD, Databases, etc. Software development is an engineering function, not an IT function. But corporate IT should NOT stand in the way of allowing engineering to achieve their goals ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduty Cajun Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 It’s so cool to seem to be getting a bit of inside information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin19687 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I wouldn't hold my breath for OTA (over the ait) updates. I have that capability on my chevy and have yet to see it roll out coutry wide. Some got it in WA, OR, CA but not here in MA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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