BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 24, 2014 – Ford Motor Company today showcased at Mobile World Congress the automated research car it will use to develop advanced and ultimately fully automated driving technologies.
The research car will build on more than a decade of Ford’s automated driving research to test sensing systems and driver-assist technologies; and serve as the research platform to develop solutions for the longer-term societal, legislative and technological issues that could be raised by fully automated vehicles.
“The Ford automated research car represents a vital step toward our vision for the future of mobility,” said Stephen Odell, executive vice president Europe Middle East and Africa. “We see a future of connected cars that communicate with each other and the world around them to make driving safer, ease traffic congestion and sustain the environment. By doing this, Ford is set to have an even greater impact in our next 100 years than we did in our first 100.”
The automated research car employs four infrared light sensors called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that scan the surrounding environment for objects such as vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and even small animals. The sensors generate a real-time 3D map by bouncing infrared light off everything within roughly 70 metres, and calculating the distance between the vehicle and those objects at a rate of 2.5 million measurements per second.
Ford collaborated with the University of Michigan to develop the vehicle and insurance company State Farm®. Through an ongoing partnership with Ford the University of Michigan is working on developing the sensors and “brains” of the car to help the vehicle understand its physical surroundings and make routing decisions. Working with State Farm, Ford is leveraging their expertise to evaluate the risks and benefits posed by automated driving.
Ford last month kicked off two new U.S. research projects intended to deliver a greater level of intuition for automated driving technology. Ford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are using advanced algorithms to help the car learn to predict the future locations of moving vehicles and pedestrians. Ford and Stanford University are exploring how the vehicle could automatically manoeuvre so the sensors could see around obstacles.
In Europe, Ford also announced today a new research project with RWTH Aachen University, exploring the development of human machine interfaces for automated driving technologies, which communicate clearly with drivers, and enable the driver to easily retake control and override automated functions at any time. One of the most important tools of these studies will be a highly sophisticated driving simulator.
“In the future, automated driving may well help us improve driver safety and manage issues such as traffic congestion and global gridlock, yet there are still many questions that need to be answered and explored to make it a long-term reality,” said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and Innovation. “With the automated Ford research vehicle, our goal is to test the limits of full automation and determine the appropriate levels for near- and mid-term deployment.”
The sensor-based systems, which help today’s Ford vehicles to park themselves, understand a driver’s voice commands, detect dangerous driving situations, and assist with emergency braking, are the building blocks for the future of fully automated driving.
“The early milestones in Ford’s evolutionary approach to delivering automated vehicle technology are already delivering benefits to drivers in Europe through features such as Active Park Assist, Active City Stop, Lane Keeping Aid, Traffic Sign Recognition and SYNC,” said Pim van der Jagt, executive technical leader, Ford Research and Innovation. “Our engineers are well on the way to delivering the next generation of technologies, including Obstacle Avoidance, Fully Assisted Parking Aid and Traffic Jam Assist.”
The automated research car also builds on driver-in-control studies conducted in Ford’s VIRTTEX (VIRtual Test Track Experiment) driving simulator in the U.S., enabling researchers to study how to merge the capabilities of human and automated drivers to create a seamless, integrated experience.
Ford aims to develop functions that alert drivers to traffic jams and accidents; that assist parking and driving in slow-moving traffic; and ultimately fully automated navigation and parking. With these technologies and others that one day could allow a person to be driven to a destination, the driver will need to be engaged and able to take control of the wheel if necessary.
“Products such as Ford’s automated research car give us a head start in the development of automated features,” said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and Innovation. “Our Blueprint for Mobility aligns the desired outcomes of our work in automated functionality with the democratisation of driver-assist technology found on today’s lineup of Ford products.”
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* http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-236_en.htm
For further information on Ford at Mobile World Congress 2014 please follow this link http://mwc2014.fordpresskits.com
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 181,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information about Ford and its products worldwide please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 47,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 67,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities (13 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and nine unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.
