[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

Denso sees 15-year wait for self-driving car
Automotive News
June 23, 2015

TOKYO (Bloomberg) -- The technology to make cars fully autonomous probably won’t be established until at least 2030, according to Toyota's largest supplier...

...Denso’s assessment of the prospects for self-driving cars is less optimistic than companies including Google Inc. and Ford Motor Co., which have predicted them hitting roads by 2020. Ford said today it was moving its autonomous vehicle r&d to a more advanced stage...

 

[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

afaik this is related...

Buying a car could soon be a thing of the past, and Ford is desperate to find what’s next
WashingtonPost
By Drew Harwell June 24

Ford last month sent letters to 14,000 of its American drivers with an unusual suggestion: For extra cash, they could rent their cars to fellow urbanites wanting a cheap ride.

America's second-biggest auto giant wouldn't directly sell any additional cars or trucks off the arrangement; it wouldn't even take a cut. But it would put Ford closer to the front of a movement in which cars are shared, ignored or Uber-ed — not bought.

The "peer-to-peer" rental experiment is only the latest weird move for America's auto powerhouse, maker of the F-150 and Model T. Last month, Ford launched a pay-as-you-go network of shareable, on-demand cars in London, called GoDrive.

And on Tuesday, the car giant introduced a new foldable, battery-powered "e-bike," the MoDe:Flex, with companion smartphone and Android smartwatch apps that alert cyclists to weather, directions and even upcoming potholes.


pic swiped from GMI

Call it a late-life identity crisis. Ford and other carmakers, the chief benefactors of America's auto addiction, are suddenly facing a future in which car buying is a thing of the past..

 

[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

I see this being the perfect slow news day filler...

Ride-sharing forces automakers to rethink how they sell cars
L.A Times
By Jerry Hirsch
June 27,2015

For at least 22 hours a day most cars sit parked, sucking up their owners' money while waiting to be driven. For most people, it's one of their most underutilized — but most expensive — assets.

Now, some companies are devising ways to help people profit from their vehicles. Start-ups like RelayRides and Getaround help people rent out their cars during down time. Uber, Lyft and Sidecar connect car owners with people willing to pay for a ride. The rapid growth of these start-ups is transforming transportation — making it easier than ever before to get around without owning a car — and forcing automakers to devise new strategies to lure prospective buyers.

Last week, Ford launched a car-sharing program that offers buyers a new way to offset the pains of ownership by tapping into what is essentially an Airbnb on wheels...

..."This is a big bang moment for the auto industry," said Thilo Koslowski, vice president at research firm Gartner Inc., who estimates that by 2025, 20% of the vehicles in urban centers will be dedicated to shared use.

"Imagine all of a sudden 20% of your vehicles sales in the classic sense — to individuals who will be the only user of that car — go away," he said...

 

[DetroitBORG]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

The death of the car is probably not that imminent, but I think the first stage is autonomous driving which could slowly turn the car experience into a mass transit experience, therefore car ownership (and the car itself) doesn't matter as much and can be shared. Autonomous driving would save many lives, eliminate traffic jams, increase infrastructure efficiencies, substantially reduce energy consumption.

The great thing about Ford is that it sees the future better than anybody, it always has the long view so you have to pay attention to them.

 

[ScarredKnightfan]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

The death of the car is probably not that imminent

I guess I can't even see it going away completely anyway. So many people that live & work in rural areas where the mass transit is just not as readily available, if at all.


Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve
"I walk alone" __ GreenDay __ 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'

 

[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

in the spirit of being clueless, the powers-that-be can say...

...So many people that live & work in rural areas where the mass transit is just not as readily available, if at all...

...let them drive trucks

 

[ScarredKnightfan]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

LOL!!!! Trucks would be just fine with me.


Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve
"My name is Sue! How do you do?!" __ Johnny Cash __ 'A Boy Named Sue'

 

[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

Ford wants smart cruise that's speed and grade sensitive
Autoblog
Chris Bruce
July 23rd 2015
[imgalign=left]http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/200/388/4/S2003884/slug/s/ford-fusion-hybrid-automated-02-1.jpg[/imgalign]Ford is working to make adaptive cruise control even smarter and more economical for future vehicles. The automaker now has a patent (pdf link) on a system to use information on the grade of the road, traffic data, and a driver's preferences to eke out better fuel mileage over a journey. This solution would essentially put a little hypermiling right into a model's software...

...Ford is currently making major investments into autonomous driving technology and has some prestigious partners. While the patent documents don't specifically mention the optimal speed profiles for driverless vehicles, they seem like a natural fit. Over the course of an entire trip, the fuel economy gains would likely be even greater than over a few miles on a relatively flat interstate.

 

[2b2]

meanwhile... the Big 3 Germans GANG UP for Autonomous Cars

Audi, BMW And Mercedes Could Sign Agreement To Acquire Nokia's "Here" Technology
TopSpeed
07.23.2015 - by Jonathan Lopez

The big three German luxury carmakers...are reportedly nearing a deal with Nokia to purchase the telecomm company’s "Here" mapping and location business. The deal is rumored to cost between 2.5 and 3 billion euros ($2.74 to $3.29 billion) and would provide fully autonomous cars with the means to talk to mobile networks...

...The system would provide self-driving cars with the necessary connectivity to receive real-time data updates, thus enabling them to perform functions like recalculate a route around a traffic jam or accident on the road ahead...

...In addition to ownership of all relevant patents, the purchase could also include multi-year commitments to improve the system’s map data quality. The deal is expected to reach finalization by the end of the month, but is by no means guaranteed...

...this level of cooperation is a first.
This is a major purchase, and it speaks to the importance of systems like Here for the evolution of the car.

This is a major purchase, and it speaks to the importance of systems like Here for the evolution of the car. As we near the tipping point for widespread adoption of fully autonomous vehicles, it appears as though the old guard might be getting a wee bit nervous.

What’s at stake? Imagine the major automakers losing its customers to vast fleets of self-driving taxis from the likes of Uber, Google and Apple. Suddenly, offering 15 more horsepower than a rival isn’t quite as important as it used to be...

 

[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

BMW, Daimler and Audi Clinch Purchase of Nokia’s Maps Business
German car makers to acquire Nokia Here in deal worth $3.1 billion(€2.8 billion)
W.S.J
By Friedrich Geiger | Updated Aug. 3, 2015

...yada yada...

 

[2b2]

Re: Ford CEO Mark Fields Wants to Make a Self-Driving Car for the Masses

[ sidebar ]
Tesla Starts Beta-Testing Latest Autopilot Features with Owners
Car&Driver
August 17, 2015 by Steve Siler
Tesla has put itself at the forefront of autonomous-driving technology, and the company appears not to be taking its foot off the proverbial pedal—even as it wants to allow its drivers to do exactly that. The latest news, according to a report from IEEE Spectrum, the blog for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is the release of the latest version of its Autopilot system (Version 7, which we have reported on before) to a beta-test group of Tesla Model S owner-volunteers. We assume these folks will pay a lot of attention to how little they’re paying attention, then provide copious amounts of feedback to the Tesla team before a wider rollout that’s expected to take place later this year...

- - - - - - - - - -

what I wanna know is...
Will the robocar accelerate to 60 in 2.8 seconds?
&/aka
how would YOU feel about a robocar with a "Ludicrous Mode"?

 

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Ford’s Autonomous Fusion Drives Around Artificial Michigan City All Alone (Video)
TTAC
By Aaron Cole on November 15, 2015

It’s not quite “Vanilla Sky,” but Ford is testing its autonomous vehicle tech at the University of Michigan’s 'Mcity', a 32-acre fake city with weirdly placed fire hydrants and fake hipster bookstores, and no one around.

The automaker announced Friday that its Fusion Hybrid was managing the testing grounds’ lanes, turns, roads, intersections, lights, without one artificial bumper bent or curbed wheel — allegedly.

Ford’s announcement and video are thin on details but thick with meaning...

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MORE @ Media.FORD.com

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via Brenda Priddy @ facebook

 

[2b2]

on the cusp of 2 other threads Andrew's Z-H & a DCT thread elsewhere

I'm wondering about a different use for vehicle-communications
ie TO the Mfg

with all these adaptive/supposedly-intelligent subsystems
WHAT IF the Mfg knew What they were 'learning' from their owners??

kinda thinking there could otherwise be a number of 'modes' being built-in that Never get used/experienced?
OR
that it's possible for the car to acquire Bad Lessons inadvertently?

...also
what if there was a 'frustration sensor' - maybe verbal? ("d@mmit!") - to clue-in the Mfg?

 

[2b2]

Uber's Kalanick On Self-Driving Cars:
It's Likely To Take A Lot Longer
Forbes
Miguel Helft - Feb 16, 2016

To all of you who think self-driving cars are just around the corner, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has a message. “It’s likely to take a lot longer,” Kalanick said Tuesday during a talk at the annual TED conference in Vancouver. Longer than some in the media would have you believe. Longer than all the hype around them suggests. And when autonomous cars do become a reality, they won’t revolutionize the world overnight.

“It’s also going to be a long transition,” Kalanick said.”They will work in certain places and not in others.”...

...Even in front of a friendly audience, like TED’s future-loving attendees, Kalanick appeared to be on the defensive. His talk opened with something of a screed against regulation, which a century ago, Kalanick said, killed the jitneys — the private, shared vehicles that were an alternative to crowded streetcars. Similarly, he said, regulations about how much Uber can charge for shared car miles could impinge the growth of UberPool, the company’s carpooling service, which could improve live in cities by taking scores of cars off the road.
.

 

[2b2]

file under case# 000000001

Google’s self-driving Lexus hits bus in California
Biz Beat Blog
Published: February 29, 2016

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• WHAT were they 'thinking'?
• it's a LEXUS for crimanysake
• tempting Fate fer sure...

 

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Five Facts About Ford’s Winter Autonomous Vehicle Testing
FordAuthority
by Aaron Birch — Mar 8, 2016

This year, Ford Motor Company became the first automaker to publicly demonstrate autonomous vehicle testing in the snow.

It’s a pretty big deal; ensuring that the car maintains adequate traction despite slippery conditions is peanuts. Several much bigger challenges, such as ensuring that the car can accurately judge its location when the landscape is blanketed in show, and that it has adequate sensor input despite the possibility of sensors being obscured by slush, are the tricky parts.

Here are five little-known facts about Ford’s first public demonstration of snowy autonomous vehicle testing.

1. The car’s environment must be mapped in clear conditions first...

2. Ford’s autonomous test vehicles collect and process as much as 600GB of data per hour...

3. The LIDAR sensors used are powerful enough to detect falling snowflakes.

4..........

 

[Bloggin]

^...I saw a Tesla Model X driving in the snow video, and it kept wanting to stay it's defined distance from the right lane, but there was snow there, bot not more over to the left. So the driver had to keep holding the car more left with AutoPilot on.

So hopefully Ford's software is smart enough to 'know' where the lines are, but can 'see' where the clear path is and use that when appropriate. Doesn't sound to complicated to do. I guess it would be one of the many evasive maneuvers it would already have to do, as of it saw something in the lane it was traveling down.

 

[2b2]

ADD SteeringWheels to the SECOND AMENDMENT!!

A Brief History of Autonomous Vehicle Technology + video
Wired
The prospect of autonomous cars may still seem impossibly futuristic. Their coming debut will take our hands off the wheel and has followed an evolutionary path that stretches back to Leonardo da Vinci and beyond.

Companies such as Ford, Mercedes and Tesla are racing to build autonomous vehicles for a radically changing consumer world. Ford, for instance, recently tripled its investment in its autonomous vehicle fleet and is testing 30 autonomous Ford Fusion hybrids in California, Michigan and Arizona. And yet, the fingerprints of tech history can be seen in almost every aspect of their exciting new capabilities...

produced by the WIRED Brand Lab for Ford Motor Company
.

 

[dc01096]

Ford plans EV to compete with Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model 3, Fields confirms

'Model E' slated to be built in new Mexico plant

April 28, 2016 @ 12:42 pm

Ford markets the Focus Electric with a 76-mile range. It's increasing that to 100 miles this fall, but even that is just half the advertised range of the Chevy Bolt, which GM says will arrive later this year, and Tesla's Model 3, which is expected to go on sale within two years.





DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is developing an electric vehicle that would be competitive with the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3, CEO Mark Fields said today.
Fields, asked whether the automaker intended to offer a battery-electric vehicle with a 200-mile range, said Ford wants to be “among the leaders or in a leadership position” as more automakers introduce long-range battery-powered cars.
“Clearly that’s something we’re developing for,” Fields said on Ford’s first-quarter earnings conference call.
Fields’ comments, while lacking details, are the first time a top executive with the company has acknowledged specific plans to directly challenge Tesla Motors and the Bolt.
Fields didn’t say how soon such a vehicle could go on sale. Ford is expected to call it the “Model E” and assemble it starting in 2019 at a new plant in Mexico that the company announced earlier this month.

Mark Fields on 200-mile EV: "Clearly that's something we're developing for."

The Model E would likely be offered as a traditional hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a pure electric vehicle, according to research firm AutoForecast Solutions. Ford has a pending trademark application on the “Model E” name.
Fields announced in December that Ford would spend $4.5 billion on an effort to add 13 hybrid or electric vehicles to its lineup by 2020. He said 40 percent of Ford’s nameplates would be offered in an electrified version by that time.
Ford currently sells the Focus Electric with a 76-mile range. It’s increasing that to 100 miles this fall, but even that is just half the advertised range of the Bolt, which General Motors says will arrive later this year, and the Model 3, which is expected to go on sale within two years. In addition, Nissan North America is planning to offer a redesigned Leaf that goes at least 200 miles in 2018.
At this month’s SAE World Congress, several speakers said a range of at least 200 miles is needed to alleviate consumers' range anxiety about battery-powered cars. But Kevin Layden, the director of Ford’s electrification programs and engineering, said the Focus is enough to satisfy.
"I think right now with the launch of the Focus Electric at 100 miles, it is going to satisfy a big chunk of the population," Layden said. "It's going to be really affordable and a step up from where we are now."