Ford hits autonomous vehicle target hard but still five years’ out
Ford is working with the University of Michigan to speed up plans for production of its autonomous Fusion range, fine tuning its technology at Mcity, “the world’s first full-scale simulated real-world urban environment”. According to to Raj Najir, Ford Vice President of Global Product Development, Mcity provides a true-to-life “challenging, yet safe urban environment”, which has everything except the potholes and humans. Despite progress, Ford still expects its driverless option will only realistically be ready for release in another five years, which puts the company’s timeframe in step with Google’s, as the technologies require further work on aspects such as driving in adverse weather conditions.

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Ford is the first automaker to test an autonomous vehicle at Mcity, part of the University of Michigan, and the world’s first full-scale simulated real-world urban environment designed to test connected and automated vehicles in an effort to accelerate development time

Ford has been testing autonomous vehicles for more than 10 years, and offers a broad portfolio of available semi-autonomous technologies on vehicles globally – designed to make customers’ daily drives more convenient

Ford expanding testing of its Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle, putting cameras, radar, LiDAR sensors and real-time 3D mapping technology through the paces on diversity of roads and realistic neighborhoods of Mcity

Autonomous vehicles are a key part of Ford Smart Mobility – the company’s plan to deliver the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data, while making millions of people’s lives better

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 13, 2015 – Ford is the first automaker to test autonomous vehicles at Mcity – the full-scale simulated real-world urban environment at the University of Michigan. The 32-acre facility is part of the university’s Mobility Transformation Center.

“Testing Ford’s autonomous vehicle fleet at Mcity provides another challenging, yet safe, urban environment to repeatedly check and hone these new technologies,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “This is an important step in making millions of people’s lives better and improving their mobility.”

Ford has been testing autonomous vehicles for more than 10 years and is now expanding testing on the diversity of roads and realistic neighborhoods of Mcity near the North Campus Research Complex to accelerate research of advanced sensing technologies.

Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle merges today’s driver-assist technologies, such as front-facing cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors, and adds four LiDAR sensors to generate a real-time 3D map of the vehicle’s surrounding environment – essential for dynamic performance.



Real-world testing in a whole new way

Mcity opened in July. The full-scale urban environment provides real-world road scenarios – such as running a red light – that can’t be replicated on public roads. Click here to see the Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle testing at Mcity.

There are street lights, crosswalks, lane delineators, curb cuts, bike lanes, trees, hydrants, sidewalks, signs, traffic control devices – even construction barriers. Here, Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle is tested over a range of surfaces – concrete, asphalt, simulated brick and dirt – and maneuvers two-, three- and four-lane roads, as well as ramps, roundabouts and tunnels.

“The goal of Mcity is that we get a scaling factor. Every mile driven there can represent 10, 100 or 1,000 miles of on-road driving in terms of our ability to pack in the occurrences of difficult events,” said Ryan Eustice, University of Michigan associate professor and co-investigator in Ford’s research collaboration with the university, one of two faculty working on this project with Ford.



Ford’s track record of technology leadership

Ford revealed its Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle with University of Michigan and State Farm Insurance in 2013 in an effort to advance sensing systems so these technologies could be integrated into Ford’s next-generation vehicles. Earlier this year, Ford announced it moved its research efforts in autonomous vehicle technology to the next step in development, to the advanced engineering phase. The team is working to make sensing and computing technologies feasible for production while continuing to test and refine algorithms.

Ford offers a full portfolio of semi-autonomous technology and the most available driver-assist features in four vehicle segments in the United States – large light-duty pickups with F-150, midsize SUVs with Edge and Explorer, midsize cars with Fusion and large cars with Taurus.

Along with testing at Mcity and on public roads, Ford’s autonomous fleet has been put through the paces at the company’s vehicle development facilities in Dearborn and Romeo, Michigan.

“We are pleased to welcome Ford as the first automaker to use Mcity to test autonomous vehicles,” said Peter Sweatman, director, Mobility Transformation Center. “Mcity offers a unique, real-world test environment that will help Ford accelerate development of its autonomous technology while building on its existing research collaboration with University of Michigan.”

Changing the way the world moves: Ford Smart Mobility

Autonomous vehicles are one element of Ford Smart Mobility, Ford’s plan to deliver the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data.

With Ford Smart Mobility, the company is once again changing the way the world moves to make people’s lives better – using innovation and advanced technology across its business to address the world’s biggest transportation challenges. This is what Henry Ford did 112 years ago.