Ford to begin testing autonomous vehicles in snowy conditions

Ford announced yesterday that it will start testing autonomous cars in snowy conditions, becoming the first automaker to do so, according to Raj Nair, head of global product development. Testing in snow is important, because snow can cover the sensors, cameras and radars autonomous vehicles need to navigate. "It’s one thing for a car to drive itself in perfect weather,” said Jim McBride, Ford technical leader for autonomous vehicles. “It’s quite another to do so when the car’s sensors can’t see the road because it’s covered in snow. Weather isn’t perfect, and that’s why we’re testing autonomous vehicles in wintry conditions – for the roughly 70% of US residents who live in snowy regions.” To work in snowy conditions the cars have high-resolution 3D maps of their surroundings that the car can apparently read, even under a blanket of snow.

Alisa Priddle

Detroit Free Press

Ford will start testing autonomous cars in the snow, the automaker announced today at a press conference at the 2016 Detroit auto show.

It will be the first automaker to do so, said Raj Nair, head of global product development.

It is important testing because self-driving cars depend on sensors, cameras and radar to read their surroundings and snow can cover vital areas and impair their ability to work. The technology can be rolled out universally until it is proven to operate safely in all regions, climates and weather conditions's

"It’s one thing for a car to drive itself in perfect weather,” said Jim McBride, Ford technical leader for autonomous vehicles. “It’s quite another to do so when the car’s sensors can’t see the road because it’s covered in snow. Weather isn’t perfect, and that’s why we’re testing autonomous vehicles in wintry conditions – for the roughly 70% of U.S. residents who live in snowy regions.”

For snow conditions, the cars have high-resolution 3D maps of their surroundings that the car can read even with a blanket of snow. The maps were developed with the university, said Ryan Eustice, associate professor at University of Michigan college of engineering.

An autonomous vehicle creates the maps while driving the test environment in favorable weather, with technologies automatically annotating features like traffic signs, trees and buildings. When the vehicle can’t see the ground, it detects above-ground landmarks to pinpoint itself on the map, and then subsequently uses the map to drive successfully in inclement conditions.

“The vehicle’s normal safety systems, like electronic stability control and traction control, which often are used on slippery winter roads, work in unison with the autonomous driving software,” said McBride. “We eventually want our autonomous vehicles to detect deteriorating conditions, decide whether it’s safe to keep driving, and if so, for how long.”

CEO Mark Fields said testing has already begun in Michigan, including use of Mcity which is a 32-acre simulated city at the University of Michigan, and work continues to develop algorithms that take weather into account.

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Fields said Ford is not in a race to be first with a fully autonomous vehicle on the road. The company already has driver assist technology in cars and in the works. "We don't want to make a marketing claim."

The automaker also announced a partnership with IBM as it increasingly mines big data.

They are working on a pilot platform that can spot patterns, correlations and trends to help consumers make decisions such as finding a parking spot or dealing with traffic.

Fields said Ford wants to be a trusted steward of the personal data it collects.

In other news, Ford plans to create a wearables research lab in Dearborn to tap into a trend and explore if it can link to driver information like a blind sport warning or monitor heart rate and increase the cruise control distance to the car in front if the driver shows signs of tension.

"As more consumers embrace smart watches, glasses and fitness bands, we hope to develop future applications that work with those devices to enhance in-car functionality and driver awareness,” said Gary Strumolo, global manager for vehicle design and infotronics, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.

Contact Alisa Priddle: 313-222-5394 or apriddle@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisaPriddle

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