Ford Motor Co. (F) is joining other global automakers in stepping up efforts to roll out self-driving cars, company executives said on Tuesday. Reuters
The U.S. automaker will expand advanced safety technology, counting automatic braking, across its global vehicle lineup over the next five years, they said. Such systems, the precursors of fully autonomous vehicles, enable hands-free operation of cars under certain conditions by automating such basic functions as steering, braking and throttle.
Ford has lagged behind competitors, notably General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG’s Audi, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Tesla Motors Inc, which have all declared plans to start offering semi-automated driving systems over the next 18 months.
On Tuesday, Ford said it had created a global team to develop self-driving vehicles, with 29-year company veteran Randy Visintainer as director.
Nair said the move is “another step closer to production” of fully autonomous vehicles. He declined to say when such vehicles would reach the market, but other companies have targeted 2020.
Ford said its advanced engineering efforts extend well beyond self-driving vehicles. Executives on Tuesday declared breakthroughs in high-speed, three-dimensional printing of prototype parts, in joint venture with Silicon Valley-based Carbon3D, in addition to the extension of the MyFord Mobile app to wearables, counting Apple Watch and Android Wear.
The company said that it is moving the development of its self-driving cars to its advanced engineering operations from the Palo-Alto research lab, Bloomberg reports.
This move is an important step toward bringing a model to market, said Raj Nair, group VP of global product development.
Autonomous vehicle technology is another step closer to production at Ford, moving from a research effort to an advanced engineering program, the company declared today.
Ford Motor Co. (F) has designated a director of autonomous vehicle development – 29-year Ford veteran Randy Visintainer – and created a global team to work on the advanced program.
Ford Research and Innovation Center Palo Alto is working on the global Ford team to deliver the Ford Smart Mobility plan, which aims to take the company to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data.
“During the next five years, we will move to migrate driver-assist technologies across our product lineup to assist make our roads safer and continue to enhance automated driving capability,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “At the same time, we are working to make sure those features and the whole way you shop for, buy and own a Ford vehicle provides an outstanding customer experience.”
Ford F-150 has the most accessible driver-assist technology in the large light-duty pickup segment, while Edge and Explorer lead the midsize SUV segment, Fusion tops the midsize car segment and Taurus leads among large cars. Each vehicle has eight accessible driver-assist features, the independent analysis shows.
The Ford brand offers more nameplates in the United States with active park assist, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping aid, and blind spot monitoring than any other mainstream manufacturer, according to SBD research.
Ford Motor Company manufactures and distributes automobiles worldwide. The company operates through two sectors, Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector develops, manufactures, distributes, and services vehicles, parts, and accessories. It offers vehicles primarily under the Ford and Lincoln brand names.
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