What's the news?
Ford is pressing ahead with its plans to have a high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle (rated to the US-based international Society of Automotive Engineers' level four grade) in service with either a ride-hailing or ride-sharing service by 2021.
In order to achieve this, Ford has invested in or announced a collaboration with four relevant start-ups to make its five-year target. Part of the work will see it doubling its team situated in the Silicon Valley and also more than doubling the size of its Palo Alto Research and Innovation Centre.
This level four robotised car will have no steering wheel, nor throttle or brake pedals either, so it's not like the human occupants on board can take back control if the Ford suddenly - oh, we don't know - gets taken over by Skynet or similar. That is why it is best suited to commercial mobility systems, although Ford says its 'Johnny Cab' will still be available in high volumes.
The four companies involved in Ford's venture are all connected to the key technologies that will allow self-driving cars to segue seamlessly into daily traffic flow. They are: Velodyne, a Silicon Valley company that's said to be a leader in light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors; SAIPS, an Israeli computer vision and machine learning company, designed to strengthen the carmaker's expertise in artificial intelligence; Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC, another machine vision company founded by a neuroscientist called Dr Sheila Nirenberg, who 'cracked the neural code the eye uses to transmit visual information to the brain', allowing Ford's autonomous cars to have human-like thoughts; and Civil Maps, from Berkeley, CA, in order to develop high-resolution 3D mapping capabilities.
Anything else?
"The next decade will be defined by automation of the automobile, and we see autonomous vehicles as having as significant an impact on society as Ford's moving assembly line did 100 years ago," said Mark Fields, Ford's president and CEO. "We're dedicated to putting on the road an autonomous vehicle that can improve safety and solve social and environmental challenges for millions of people - not just those who can afford luxury vehicles.