Autonomous Vehicles

Smart vehicles for a smart world

For the first time in our planet’s history, half of the world’s population live in cities. As we chart this new reality of smart vehicles for a smart world, we envision a city of tomorrow that could be holistic, organic, inter-connected system powered by a transportation operating system and shaped by total multimodal mobility including autonomous vehicles.

No driver required

Ford is committed to delivering Level 4 Autonomous Vehicles for commercial operation by 2021. Self-driving vehicles would dramatically transform the way we move people and goods. This is why we are working hand in hand with cities to build tailored Autonomous Vehicle solutions that help their local economies thrive. Ford has partnered with Argo AI, an artificial intelligence and robotics company, led by some of the industry’s most experienced self-driving vehicle experts. Argo AI are applying the latest advancements in computer vision and machine learning to help build effective self-driving vehicles. Their ability to build a scalable software architecture with production quality code from the start, plus Ford’s expertise with vehicle integration and manufacturing aims to create high-quality self-driving vehicles.

Technology

A self-driving vehicle must be designed and developed as an integrated system that works in unison, otherwise we are not able to achieve maximum capability, reliability and performance. The perception system is made up of; sensors, cameras, radar and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology – to take in the traffic scene all around the vehicle. The motion panning system is a sophisticated computing system that acts as the brain by combining the sensor information into a comprehensive understanding of the traffic situation. Then, the controls system is designed to direct the engine, braking and steering systems to guide the vehicle accordingly.

Trust

As we develop our self-driving vehicles, we are focused on three ideals that we believe are crucial to earning trust; safety, reliability and valuable experiences. Safety is a top priority in developing the processes we use for designing, testing and manufacturing our vehicles. We believe that the safety processes we have developed and proven throughout Ford’s history are key to the trust we have earned. We are applying those time-tested processes to the development of self-driving vehicles. We design for reliability through durability testing, using our extensive experience in building dependable vehicles that operate day after day, in hot or cold weather and under all different road conditions. Our end goal, as everything we are developing comes together, is to create an experience that people enjoy and find valuable.

Serve People

Initially, self-driving vehicles will work best in a different business model: one where vehicles are accessed and shared versus owned and driven. They will operate as part of a mobility service accessed through a smartphone app for either moving people or delivering goods. We think self-driving vehicles can enhance people services and help extend their availability and affordability – with a particular focus on operating in areas that are under served by Transit options – and support people that may not be able to drive themselves due to age or disability. In the realm of goods delivery, we see opportunity to help the increasing demand generated by the convenience of ordering from large online retailers. There is also potential to support small and medium sized local businesses that may want to take advantage of delivery services but do not have the ability to tap into complex and expensive logistic systems.

Trials

We are currently driving on public roads in Washington D.C; Miami FL, Pittsburgh PA, Metro Detroit MI and conducting several AV related projects in Germany. Ford Mobility aims to have more than 100 self-driving on public roads in operation by the end of 2019.

What do people think about getting their pizza delivered by a self-driving car? We partnered with Dominos Pizza to understand the role self-driving vehicles can play in food delivery. We are also partnering with Postmates with more than 70 local businesses participating. The focus of our research is on the first and last mile of the delivery experience, testing how businesses and consumers interact with our self-driving vehicles. We have also expanded this pilot program to Walmart seeking to explore how grocery delivery can help expand access to fresh food and other retailers.

Self-driving technology has tremendous potential to change people’s lives and the communities in which they will operate. In addition to developing the technology in a safe and reliable manner, we are making sure it is being applied in ways that will deliver experiences that are valued. In the report below, you will also learn how we are working closely with industry and government partners to apply this technology to solve the challenges our cities face. Our goal is to provide a sense of the new services that will soon be available to our customers and how it could impact their lives. Please click below if you want to learn more about Argo AI.

Read the Full Report Argo AI