Ford is mashing the dash on its plans for autonomous vehicles.
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The Dearborn automaker will reveal that it’s tripling the size of its own driverless auto fleet; will partner with Amazon.com Inc.to connect home and vehicle; and is exploring the use of drones with its pickups.
As cars gradually become little more than rolling computers, automakers are furiously looking for ways to distinguish their brands.
Fusion Hybrid sedans were chosen for the second-generation vehicles because they have the newest and most advanced electrical architecture.
“We see being an automotive and a mobility company as being a massive opportunity, and we are very serious about investing in, innovating in and leading in both”, he said.
“We’re moving from being an auto company to being a mobility company”, he said.
Mr Fields was speaking against the backdrop of a new move to self-driving cars and greater dependence on automation in vehicles.
Explaining why he’s steering Ford toward “mobility”, he answers: “It makes business sense”. “Revenue from transportation services equal $5.4 trillion (£3.7 trillion) and yet, today we receive none of our revenue from transportation services”. Ford’s share is around six per cent of that. Ford and rivals garner little to no revenue from transportation services-taxis, auto sharing etc. Ford simply can not continue to exist on USA sales of the F-Series pick-up, and the company’s investment and rebuilding of the Lincoln brand is expensive and slow. Case in point: At The Ford Motor Company’s press conference this morning, it announced a partnership with Amazon to integrate vehicles with Echo, the e-commerce company’s smarthome device. “The key is finding the right software protocols, so that the integrations with Amazon Echo and Alexa works”. Think butler in a soda can.
The company also said it is working with Amazon and its voice-recognition software, so you can unlock your vehicle and start it, and check things such as fuel level, with just your voice. The challenge asks designers to use Ford’s Sync AppLink or the open source OpenXC system.
The idea is that no terrain could get in the way of first responders or disaster teams.
For whatever reasons, Fields has shifted Ford’s self-driving efforts into high gear.
The company will now have 30 Fusion autonomous vehicles on the road and test tracks in California, Arizona, and in MI, said Raj Nair, Ford’s group vice president for product development.
During that time, Velodyne CEO and founder David Hall consulted with Ford’s Jim McBride about LiDAR technology and how it could be used for 3D visualization.
Its improved clarity and extended range are accompanied by a decrease it overall size.
Ford is boosting its autonomous auto fleet, with the new self-driving cars getting a smaller, smarter laser sensor system.
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That something else is the focus of Ford’s presence at CES: It’s here to show the world the progress it’s made.
