Ford

[Airicist]

Ford Motor Company (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?5092)

corporate.ford.com/operations/ford-autonomous-vehicles-and-mobility.html (https://corporate.ford.com/operations/ford-autonomous-vehicles-and-mobility.html)

[Airicist]

Article "Ford using robot drivers to test durability (https://www.autoblog.com/2013/06/16/ford-using-robot-drivers-to-test-durability-w-video)"

by John Neff
June 16, 2013

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/pZ4FS9WBI7M

The laser-guided car that drives itself

Published on Feb 24, 2014


For the first time in Europe, Ford's Automated Research Vehicle demonstrates the future of motoring. Lasers help the car build a 3D image of its surroundings so it can drive itself.

[Airicist]

Ford Sync (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Sync) on Wikipedia


Ford SYNC is a factory-installed, integrated in-vehicle communications and entertainment system that allows users to make hands-free telephone calls, control music and perform other functions with the use of voice commands. The system consists of applications and user interfaces developed by Ford and other third-party developers, and runs on the Windows Embedded Automotive operating system designed by Microsoft.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/GKTJHAreOZs

Irritations with Ford's SYNC system

Published on Feb 25, 2014


Computerworld's Lucas Mearian shows some of the glitches he's experienced with Ford's SYNC system in terms of voice navigation, music player integration and what happens when it just freezes on the road.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/Vmab0n8LQgo

NGV Ford Fusion Automated Research Platform

Published on Aug 18, 2014

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/QRYrSrtoqNg

Ford Pedestrian Detection technology

Published on Oct 26, 2014

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/sxftds4jCgo

The Kuga: Ford's technology flagship

Published on Nov 25, 2014


Full article:
"Test drive: Ford Kuga SUV (https://newatlas.com/review-ford-kuga-suv/34640)"

by Noel McKeegan
November 27, 2014

The Kuga packs in pretty much every piece of driver assist technology Ford makes at the moment. We spent two weeks behind the wheel of the flagship Titanium model to discover how all this high-tech gadgetry plays out in the real world.

Test: Noel McKeegan and Loz Blain. Cameras: Noel and Loz. Production: Loz.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/9UZ8d1M-q4I

Ford Sync 3 technology

Published on Dec 29, 2014

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/uvuXnNkgQsY

CES 2015: What is Ford's Blueprint for Mobility?

Published on Jan 6, 2015


Ford Motor Company has outlined a vision for smart transportation and need for development of intelligent vehicles and transport systems with the "Blueprint For Mobility". Be ready for the next part of the journey, and interesting updates from Ford @ CES 2015.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/Vt0wvBgUpmQ

The new Ford Sync 3

Published on Feb 2, 2015


Brian Cooley gives his hands-on first take of Ford's new capacitive touchscreen interface.

[Airicist]

Article "The Interview: Dr Ken Washington, VP of research and advanced engineering, Ford (https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/41006-the-interview-dr-ken-washi)"

by John Kennedy
March 5, 2015

[Airicist]

Article "Ford's new technology chief ponders the future of driving and mobility (https://newatlas.com/ford-ken-washington-future-automotive/36832)"

by Loz Blain
April 1, 2015

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/sed1m3B0FgE

Ford's Robot Doctor - Behind the Blue Oval

Published on Apr 12, 2013


Behind the Blue Oval - A monthly series that takes you inside Ford to meet the people behind the blue oval.

This month 'Behind the Blue Oval' introduces - Gerd Zech, a passionate Robot Doctor at Ford. The Robots are more than just machines to him, they are his inspiration.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/HSe5y5PgBs4

Ford demos driverless parking tech

Published on Jun 23, 2015


CNET's Wayne Cunningham shows you a concept of Ford's self-parking car technology.

[Airicist]

Article "Ford counts on soulless robot drivers to abuse its cars (https://www.wired.com/2015/11/ford-counts-on-soulless-robot-drivers-to-abuse-its-cars)"

by Jordan Crucchiola
November 6, 2015

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/6-CCDrs1U3I

NGV Performance Driving

Published on Nov 18, 2015


NGV automated performance driving on the Ford Steering and Handling Course

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/bTb6RqEiwpw

A quick look at some car tech in the Ford booth at CES 2016!

Published on Jan 10, 2016

[Airicist]

Article "Ford Invests in Artificial Intelligence for Self-Driving Cars (https://www.pcmag.com/news/346178/ford-invests-in-artificial-intelligence-for-self-driving-car)"
A California start-up has developed mapping software to identify elements in the car's field of view.

by Tom Brant
July 15, 2016

Article "Why Ford Motor Is Investing in 3D Mapping Startup Civil Maps (https://fortune.com/2016/07/15/ford-motor-3d-mapping)"

by Kirsten Korosec
July 15, 2016

Civil Maps (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?15266)

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/wwceVJe8Aq4

Ford to introduce autonomous cars by 2021

Published on Aug 17, 2016


The company says the cars will be destined for ride-hailing and ride-sharing.

[Airicist]

"Ford’s Road to Full Autonomy (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fords-road-full-autonomy-mark-fields)"

by Mark Fields
August 16, 2016

[Airicist]

Article "Ford to partner with three autonomous car startups (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2016/09/08/ford-techstars-startup-partners/89998016)"

by Michael Martinez
September 8, 2016

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/VFeLXVgF-fE

A ride in Ford’s first self-driving car

Published on Sep 12, 2016


Ford is gearing up to bring autonomous cars to market in 2021. They gave us a preview ride of what's coming in self-driving cars.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/JH2Wnd2cuN4

Ford's CEO talks new technologies

Published on Jan 8, 2017


Ford's CEO talks autonomous Fusion Hybrid, Chariot and Ford Smart Mobility and a new partnership with Amazon's Alexa.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/-Fa1_UyCirY

Under the hood of Ford and Delphi's autonomous driving plans

Published on Jan 7, 2017


Engadget's Kerry Davis sat down with James McBride, Technical leader for autonomous vehicles at Ford and Jim Zizelman, VP of engineering for electronic services at Delphi, to talk about the challenges remaining in self-driving cars and what they're anticipating for pricing, when consumers are able to buy their brands in 2021.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/PkJEkzVj76Y

Ford and Domino's teamed up for the first self-driving pizza delivery car

Published on Aug 28, 2017


Ford and Domino's teamed up for the first self-driving pizza delivery car

"Domino’s, Ford start self-driving delivery tests (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/mobility/2017/08/29/dominos-ford-start-self-driving-delivery-car/105065588)"

by Ian Thibodeau
August 29, 2017

Domino's Pizza, Inc. (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?t=14330), pizza delivery, Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, USA

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/eaa21dMb3Nc

Ford driverless car surprises the public on city streets

Published on Sep 13, 2017


Today, a simple head nod or hand wave from a driver is usually enough to indicate it’s okay for a pedestrian to cross the street, but in an autonomous vehicle future, how will a self-driving car with no human driver communicate with pedestrians, cyclists or humans operating other cars on the road?

Looking to prepare for this eventual reality, Ford Motor Company partnered with Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, to conduct a user experience study to test out a method for communicating a vehicle’s intent by soliciting real-world reactions to a self-driving car on public roads.

“Understanding how self-driving vehicles impact the world as we know it today is critical to ensuring we’re creating the right experience for tomorrow,” said John Shutko, Ford’s human factors technical specialist. “We need to solve for the challenges presented by not having a human driver, so designing a way to replace the head nod or hand wave is fundamental to ensuring safe and efficient operation of self-driving vehicles in our communities.”

As part of Ford’s efforts to ensure autonomous vehicles can safely share the road with humans, the joint research project set out to investigate the most effective means for the vehicle to communicate. The team considered using displayed text, but that would require people all understand the same language. The use of symbols was rejected because symbols historically have low recognition among consumers.

In the end, the researchers decided lighting signals are the most effective means for creating a visual communications protocol for self-driving vehicles. As light signals for turning and braking indication are already standardized and widely understood, they determined the use of lighting signals is best to communicate whether the vehicle is in autonomous drive mode, beginning to yield, or about to accelerate from a stop.

So Ford outfitted a Transit Connect van with a light bar placed on the windshield. To simulate a fully self-driving experience without using an actual autonomous vehicle, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute team developed a way to conceal the driver with a “seat suit.”

The suit creates the illusion of a fully autonomous vehicle, which is necessary to test and evaluate real-world encounters and behaviors. The researchers then went to work experimenting with three light signals to test the communication of the vehicle’s intent:

Yield: Two white lights that move side to side, indicating vehicle is about to yield to a full stop

Active autonomous driving mode: Solid white light to indicate vehicle is driving autonomously

Start to go: Rapidly blinking white light to indicate vehicle is beginning to accelerate from a stop

The simulated autonomous Transit Connect was driven on public roads in northern Virginia – home to a density of traffic and pedestrians – throughout August, with researchers capturing video and logs of pedestrian reactions. More than 150 hours of data over approximately 1,800 miles of driving was collected in an urban environment, including encounters with pedestrians, bicyclists and other drivers. External signals were activated more than 1,650 times at various locations around Arlington, Va., including at intersections, parking lots, garages, airport roadways, and various other locations.

Numerous high-definition cameras mounted in the study vehicle provided a 360-degree view of surrounding areas and captured the behavior of other road users. This data will be valuable to understanding if other road users change their behaviors in response to self-driving vehicles and the signals they employ.

"This work is of value not only to vehicle users and manufacturers, but also to anyone who walks, rides or drives alongside autonomous vehicles in the future,” said Andy Schaudt, project director, Center for Automated Vehicle Systems, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. “We are proud to support Ford in developing this important research.”

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/t2OSqw6uXHc

RI Seminar: James McBride : AI, Robotics, and Autonomous Vehicle Development at Ford Motor Company

Streamed live Oct 13, 2017


James McBride, Ph.D.
Senior Technical Leader – Autonomous Vehicles Research & Advanced Engineering
Ford Motor Company
Friday, October 13
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
AI, Robotics, and Autonomous Vehicle Development at Ford Motor Company

Education:
Ph.D. in Physics, University of Michigan
M.S. in Physics, Michigan State University
B.S. in Physics & Mathematics, University of Wisconsin – River Falls

Abstract: This presentation will highlight the history of autonomous vehicle development at Ford Motor Company and elsewhere within the industry, with an emphasis on discussing some of the difficult remaining challenges to be solved. Additionally, examples illustrating the broader range of potential applications for AI and Robotics within the transportation industry will be touched upon.

Bio: Dr. McBride has been a member of the Research Staff at Ford Motor Company since 1984, and is presently the Senior Technical Leader for Autonomous Vehicles. More than a decade ago, he founded Ford’s research program in vehicular autonomy as a means to enhance safety and mobility within the automotive industry. Notably, he led one of a select few teams to the finals of both the Desert and Urban DARPA Grand Challenges, watershed events in the rapid advancement of autonomous technologies.

Although Dr. McBride is nominally a solid-state physicist with expertise in sensing techniques involving lasers and optics, he has also worked on a wide variety of topics such as nuclear physics, alternative energy devices, exhaust-gas catalysis, crystallography, and superconductivity. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated on projects with numerous national laboratories, governmental agencies, universities, and corporations, and has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and presented more than 100 invited talks.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/kR4Sn9fnsBM

Ford CTO Ken ​Washington (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenwashington) on AI and self-driving | Recode Decode Live

Published on Apr 4, 2019


Kara Swisher sat down with Ford CTO Ken Washington to talk about investments into autonomous driving, including the array of technical, political, and philosophical challenges the automobile giant must address as the technology heads into the mainstream.

The interview was recorded as a live Recode Decode podcast in Washington, DC.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/hi6t6V4jgYo

Autonomous 1965 Ford Mustang hillclimb at Goodwood Festival of Speed - Day 2 am

Published on Apr 5, 2019


Autonomous 1965 Ford Mustang hillclimb at Goodwood Festival of Speed - Day 2 - morning run with Lee Dryden interview with commentators

[Airicist]

Article "Ford shares a year's worth of self-driving car data (https://www.engadget.com/ford-self-driving-vehicle-dataset-192308540.html)"
It wants to help advance autonomous vehicle research and development.

by Christine Fisher
May 5, 2020

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/KTA0PuaaxWI

Three years in our first self-driving city: the Ford journey in Miami-Dade

Mar 1, 2021


Three years since it first began testing self-driving vehicles in Miami-Dade, Ford has made significant progress in preparation of launching a commercial self-driving service.

What have we been up to? Take a look and see how things started... and how they're going today.

"Ford: three years of testing self-driving cars in Miami"
Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company celebrates its three year milestone testing self-driving cars in Miami

by Georgia Wilson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-wilson-0b293511a)
March 3, 2021

[Airicist]

Article "Ford expands robotics research into $75 million University of Michigan facility (https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/16/ford-expands-robotics-research-with-75-million-u-m-facility)"

by Aria Alamalhodaei (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aria-alamalhodaei-9889a534)
March 16, 2021

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/Nckogu4XZ28

The new Ford Motor Company Robotics Building at the University of Michigan College of Engineering

Mar 16, 2021


As robots and autonomous systems are poised to become part of our everyday lives, the University of Michigan and Ford are opening a one-of-a-kind facility where they’ll develop robots and roboticists that help make lives better, keep people safer and build a more equitable society.

U-M’s Ford Motor Company Robotics Building is a four-story, $75 million, 134,000-square-foot complex situated on North Campus. Its first three floors hold custom U-M research labs for robots that fly, walk, roll and augment the human body—as well as classrooms, offices and makerspaces. Through a unique agreement, the fourth floor houses Ford’s first mobility research lab on a university campus, as well as 100 Ford researchers and engineers.

"U-Michigan, Ford open world-class robotics complex (https://news.engin.umich.edu/2021/03/u-michigan-ford-open-world-class-robotics-complex)"
The facility will accelerate the future of advanced and more equitable robotics and mobility

by Nicole Casal Moore (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolecasalmoore)
March 16, 2021

University of Michigan (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?t=3033), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

[Airicist2]

Article "Ford is getting out of the full self-driving car business (https://bgr.com/tech/ford-is-getting-out-of-the-full-self-driving-car-business)"

by Joe Wituschek (https://twitter.com/heyimjoew)
March 30, 2023