BSQUARE Corporation, a provider of software solutions and the Ford Motor Company have jointly setup a Telematics Competency Center.

The agreement which was signed on June 29 stipulates that the Competency Center will be staffed by BSQUARE (News - Alert) and will focus on development and deployment of the next generation Sync in-dashboard information and infotainment system.

BSQUARE will staff 35 of its engineers in the initial stages of setting up of the Competency Center.

Brian Crowley, BSQUARE's CEO said they were excited about working on the world class Ford SYNC platform. Setting up of the Competency Center was a great way of establishing a foundation for long-term collaboration and success, he added.

The Ford SYNC Platform is packed with an unprecedented number of features some of which include navigation, hands-free calling, phone book, text to voice messaging and CD, DVD, radio and media player control through a single touch screen or by voice command.

The Competency Center is a result of dedicated and focused association between BSQUARE and Ford. The idea was to integrate the technologies of various Ford partners to develop a system that would enable all these features to function as a single integrated solution.

The new agreement signed on June 29, 2010 between Ford and BSQUARE has been modified to include amendments such as a commitment by Ford to pay BSQUARE for certain overruns it incurred on development of Sync, a significant portion of which is payable immediately.

Ford was in news in March for introducing security features to protect owners' personal information.