As Ford pursues its goal of developing a self-driving vehicle for deployment in 2021, the company released a report that outlines its approach to autonomous vehicle development. The 44-page document, titled “A Matter of Trust,” details Ford’s prioritization of safety during self-driving vehicle development, as well as how the company is working closely with industry and government partners, and how it is applying the technology to solve the challenges our cities face.
Click here to view the safety report. Click here to view the letter sent by Sherif Marakby, president and CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, to U.S Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
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What do people think about getting their pizza delivered by a self-driving car? We partnered with Domino’s Pizza to understand the role self-driving vehicles can play in food delivery.
Once our safety operators complete training, they continue to work in teams of two with the driver focused on the road ahead and the co-pilot monitoring the performance of the self-driving system via a laptop computer. Safety operators can’t use a cell phone unless the vehicle is in “Park.”
Ford Autonomous Driving Systems Milestones
We use the term “self-driving vehicle” to refer to a vehicle that meets the definition set by the SAE International for Level 4 automation.
What do people think about getting their pizza delivered by a self-driving car? We partnered with Domino’s Pizza to understand the role self-driving vehicles can play in food delivery.
Argo AI Facility
To learn about the potential of self-driving vehicles to enable goods delivery, we’re working with Postmates to research an on-demand delivery platform. Our Postmates pilot is currently underway in Miami and Miami Beach with more than 70 local businesses participating. We designed a Transit Connect for this pilot program with a locker system to secure the deliveries and allow us to serve multiple customers on one delivery route.
Visualization of how the self-driving vehicle identifies and classifies objects as static (such as fire hydrant) or dynamic (such as pedestrian) along the route.
Autonomous Vehicle Platform
Ford’s Approach to Self Driving Vehicles image
Argo AI is an artificial intelligence and robotics company, led by some of the industry’s most experienced self-driving vehicle experts. Ford has partnered with Argo AI to develop the “brains and senses,” or what we refer to as the Virtual Driver System, for our self-driving vehicles.
With the help of Miami-Dade County, we’ve set up operations in Miami to prove our autonomous vehicle business model, expand technology testing and development and even set up a terminal for fleet management.
Human Anatomy and Self-Driving Vehicles
Communicating with Pedestrians
Chariot, our microtransit ride sharing service, is helping commuters, businesses and cities improve transportation by pooling up to 14 passengers per van. Our testing shows that each van-load of passengers could remove approximately 10 private vehicles from the roadways thus contributing to improved improving traffic flow.
The map that a self-driving vehicle uses is unlike the types of maps that a person typically uses to navigate from one place to the other. In fact, the map imagery is created by the self-driving vehicle’s sensors as our safety operators manually drive our test vehicles throughout a city.
Communicating with Pedestrians
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos
A. Giménez
To make SAE defined Level 4-capable autonomous vehicles, which do not need a driver to take control, the car must be able to perform what a human can perform behind the wheel.
Today, pedestrians and bicyclists can look into a car and make eye contact with the driver to assure themselves that they are seen. A driver usually nods their head or waves a hand to indicate it’s okay to cross the road. But, what about in a driverless future?
In our pursuit of new mobility solutions, including self-driving vehicles, we understand the importance of earning the same level of trust.
Purpose-built vehicle in 2021
Ford Motor Company is launching its new GoRide non-emergency medical transportation service to safely get patients to and from their medical appointments on time, serving more than 200 facilities across the Beaumont Health network
Throughout the development period, we will be utilizing safety operators in our test vehicles. We currently have two-person teams – a safety driver and a “co-pilot”– in all our test vehicles. Also, before we put anyone in the driver or passenger seat of our test vehicles, they go through rigorous training and certification.
The two-person safety operations teams in our self-driving test vehicles are comprised of a driver and co-pilot. The driver focuses on the road ahead with their hands positioned around the steering wheel, so they are poised to take manual control as appropriate. The co-pilot monitors the performance of the self-driving system via a laptop computer.
A Matter of Trust
Argo AI Office
Once our safety operators complete training, they continue to work in teams of two with the driver focused on the road ahead and the co-pilot monitoring the performance of the self-driving system via a laptop computer. Safety operators can’t use a cell phone unless the vehicle is in “Park.”
As we develop our self-driving vehicles, we are focused on three ideals that we believe are crucial to earning trust: safety, reliability and valuable experiences.
What do people think about getting their pizza delivered by a self-driving car? We partnered with Domino’s Pizza to understand the role self-driving vehicles can play in food delivery.
Aaron is an automotive journalist living in Wyoming, USA. His background includes technology, mechanics, commercial vehicles, and new vehicle evaluations. Aaron is a member of several automotive media groups and writes for many well-known publications.
