Ford Aims to Build a Fully-Autonomous Car by 2021

Ford Aims to Build a Fully-Autonomous Car by 2021

Unbox X10 - Ford Automated Car
In the year 2021, you’ll be able to call for a fully autonomous, no steering wheel, no pedals, Uber vehicle to get to your nearest SM Supermall laden with PokeGyms and Pokestops. That’s what Ford wants to happen in five years time and it sounds pretty ambitious.

Fortunately, Ford has been taking great strides towards that reality by teaming up with a number of technology startups. Already, the company is working with a firm that makes LIDAR sensors, a company that makes computer vision and machine learning software, a company with virtual retina tech, and a 3D-mapping firm.

Aside from the partnerships, Ford has been expanding its R&D division in California, along with plans to double its team by the end of the year.

Ford executives said that the company wasn’t at the stage where it could unveil a prototype vehicle. Currently, the company is pouring all its resources into getting the hardware and software ready for a fully-autonomous car.

The grand plan is to create a vehicle fit for SAE Level 4 standards of automation. That means the car should be able to handle all aspects of driving, with a limitation on its areas of operation.

Ford plans to sell the autonomous cars initially to ride-sharing services like Uber, with an eventual rollout to consumers after a period of time.

“We are viewing this just like the core business of selling cars,” said Washington. “We stand behind our product. We envision a future ride service having vehicles in it that we engineer and service, and provide a service to our customers,” he added.

“It will be more expensive than a traditionally owned vehicle, thanks to the need for extensive computing power and sensors,” said Washington. “The miles driven are likely to be much higher as well. When you put a vehicle that has the ability to be autonomous into a ride service, it will be designed to operate in a defined environment, managed by the right business who will amortize that asset over many more miles.”

The race to the first self-driving vehicle already has eminent competitors in the form of Google and Uber. Now, Ford has entered the fray, bringing along its decades worth of experience in actually building cars.

The future of fully-autonomous vehicles just became a whole light brighter.

Source: The Verge

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