Ford might not have been the first automaker to test autonomous cars on the road, but the company is making major strides now. The automaker plans to add 20 more Ford Fusion Hybrid cars to its autonomous fleet in 2016, which would triple the number of cars currently being tested on the road. Ford has test vehicles on the road in California, Arizona, and Michigan through Ford Smart Mobility. Learn how Ford plans to stay ahead in the autonomous vehicle market.
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Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle Plan
Ford has a 10-year plan for autonomous vehicle development. Part of that plan involves participating in the California Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program. Ford’s Research and Innovation Center is located in Palo Alto, where scientists and researchers work to develop sensors, cameras, and other technology needed for these autonomous vehicles.
Ford’s goal is to make autonomous vehicles available to all drivers. Many autonomous safety features, such as parallel park assist and lane changing sensors, are already available on many cars. In the future, experts predict that due to advanced sensors and cameras, cars will be completely autonomous with no need for a driver at all.
Ford will introduce its third generation autonomous vehicle platform in 2016. The biggest change is that these vehicles use two advanced LiDar sensors from Velodyne, halving the number of sensors that the second generation vehicles required.
Challenges of Autonomous Cars in the Snow
One of the biggest setbacks that the autonomous car industry faces is snow. Even for an experienced driver, it isn’t easy to drive or maintain control in icy conditions where the lane markers aren’t visible. It makes sense that autonomous vehicles would struggle in the snow, too. Ford, however, is the first automaker to make strides in this area. The company continually conducts tests when snow falls on the roads in Michigan.
Human drivers have to use landmarks, such as road signage and buildings, to determine the direction of the roads when snow falls. Autonomous vehicles will have to do the same, which means that sensors must have more precision than ever before, along with highly detailed and regularly updated maps. Competitors in the space realize these setbacks, which prompted automakers BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen partnered to purchase Nokia maps.
How Ford Plans to Stay Ahead
As more and more automakers develop and test autonomous vehicles, Ford must make moves to stay ahead. The company does this by forging relationships with universities and technology companies for research purposes. For instance, Ford currently works with the University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University, and Carnegie Mellon University. Stanford alone is planning 13 projects in 2016 to test Ford Smart Mobility. Ford also partners with several technology companies to develop sensors and cameras for its autonomous vehicles.
Ford Vice President Ken Washington said, “Having a strong presence in Silicon Valley allows us to further accelerate our research on a wide range of technologies and apply our insights to create real-world mobility solutions.” Only time will tell if Ford remains a leader, but the company is doing all it can to be a major competitor in the autonomous vehicle industry. [/show_to]
