DEARBORN, MI – Ford shows off the third generation of its automated-vehicle technology today in the form of the Automated Ford Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle.
Developed in collaboration with the University of Michigan and insurance agency State Farm, six copies of the third-generation car will be dispatched nationwide to test the technology’s durability and determine its production viability.
The Fusion differs from other automated vehicles in testing, such as Google’s, by the amount of exclusive, in-house technology Ford has developed for the car, a top company executive says. “We’re using our own control architecture, all of our sensors (and) the add-on sensors we’re using are fused into the vehicle,” Raj Nair, group vice president-global product development, says.
Ford selected the Fusion Hybrid as its research vehicle because of the number of advanced driver-assist technologies already onboard the car, such as lane-departure warning, active park assist and adaptive cruise control.
Unique to the research Fusion are four light-detection and ranging (LiDAR) infrared sensors, which scan the road at 2.5 million times per second, Ford says.
The sensors can bounce infrared light off people, animals or objects within 200 ft. (61 m) of the vehicle to create a real-time 3D map.
Ford rolls out the car here today at a media event, as well as a large video screen displaying the LiDAR sensors scanning the room, with people presented as yellow-, green- or orange-tinged bodies on a black background.
The sensors do have drawbacks, Nair notes, meaning they are not quite ready for prime time.
Detecting snow and rain remains an issue, as does their high cost.
Other hurdles that need to be surmounted before automated driving becomes a reality include the way control will be handed off between the car and driver, as well as regulatory issues.
Developing the algorithms that will anticipate every driving situation also remains a concern.
The University of Michigan is responsible for the development of the Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle’s sensor technologies, while State Farm will continue its work with Ford to assess if driver-assistance systems can lower the rate of collisions.
Ford officials are unsure of how many miles or hours the third-gen Fusion research vehicles will log but note the automaker’s second-generation automated research vehicles spent five to six years on the road.
