Ford to begin Autonomous Vehicle testing in California next year

Ford research lab in Palo Alto supports Ford Smart Mobility, the plan to take the company to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.

By Autocar Professional Bureau

16 Dec 2015

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Ford has secured an autonomous vehicle driving permit to test the fully autonomous Fusion Hybrid on California public roads.

Sensor Fusion enables radar & camera data to work in sync to improve the vehicle's sensing capabilities.

A-Drive replicates real-world situations in a virtual test environment with autonomous cars and pedestrians.

Ford Motor Company’s Fusion Hybrid sedans will take on California streets next year, as Ford Research and Innovation Center Palo Alto continues growing.

Ford is officially enrolled in the California Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program to test autonomous vehicles on public roads.

Ford Research and Innovation Center Palo Alto is an automotive manufacturer research center with a team of more than 100 researchers, engineers and scientists.

Eighty percent of the Palo Alto team joined Ford from the technology sector. The remaining 20 percent are Ford employees from the United States, China, Germany and Australia who bring automotive engineering and design expertise.

Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO commented, “Our Palo Alto team has grown significantly this year, using research and innovation to explore and develop future mobility solutions. We’re attracting top talent from around the world to join our team in Silicon Valley, including employees from local technology companies and universities who want to make people’s lives better by changing the way the world moves.”

The Autonomous vehicle virtual test drive allows virtual interaction between an autonomous car and pedestrians, replicating real-world situations to better understand and develop responses to some of the unexpected things that can happen on the road.

Further, the sensor fusions on autonomous vehicles detect and track objects in the vehicle’s view, fusing information together to provide a 360-degree view of the car’s surroundings – including street signs, other vehicles and even pedestrians.

The lab has also conducted research on camera-based pedestrian detection system that serves as the eyes of a vehicle, allowing the car to “see” and sense pedestrians.

Ford is also working with ‘Riders for Health’ to collect GPS data and mapping coordinates to make health care, vaccines and medication delivery to people throughout rural Africa more efficient and accessible.

Ken Washington, Ford VP, research and advanced engineering summed up, “Having a strong presence in Silicon Valley allows us to further accelerate our research on a wide range of technologies, and apply our insights to create real-world mobility solutions.”