Support NeoGAF

[Phantast2k]

Ford to mass-produce a completely self-driving car within five years | Ars Technica

Autonomous Vehicle and Silicon Valley Investments | Innovation | Ford - YouTube

On Tuesday, the Ford Motor Company became the latest car maker committed to putting a fully autonomous car into production in the next five years. "The world is changing, and it's changing very quickly," Ford CEO Mark Fields said. The company intends to build a high-volume car capable of SAE's level 4 autonomy, but the target customer is not regular consumers—it's ride-sharing services. "Starting in 2021, if you want to get around the city without the hassle of driving or parking, Ford's new fully autonomous vehicle will be there for you," Fields said.

The announcement took place in Palo Alto, outside Ford's Silicon Valley Research and Innovation Center. As part of Ford's future plans, that research center will double in size over the next 16 months. Although Fields cited the safety implications of autonomous cars—90 percent of traffic crashes are attributable to human error, after all—he was also enthusiastic about the possibility of making transportation more accessible to the elderly, disabled, and people too young (or too disinterested) to drive themselves.
...

Skipping straight to level 4

Ford's CTO Raj Nair took the podium after Fields to lay out the company's strategy for getting to fully autonomous cars in five years. "We're tripling our investment in driver assist technologies like traffic jam assist and remote parking in the next three years. But where we see the greatest opportunity is where we're able to remove the driver from the responsibility of driving altogether—SAE levels four and five," Nair said. That will involve Ford tripling the size of its autonomous research fleet by the end of this year and then tripling it again in 2017.

And forget about more incremental steps in driver assist technologies. "Today we're looking at this differently," Nair said. "We have to take a completely different path." That means no level 3 autonomous Ford. Nair said that Ford's researchers still haven't found a satisfactory solution to the problem of returning control to a human driver in a safe manner (a level 4 car by contrast has no steering wheel and requires no human control beyond inputting the destination).

 

[PeskyToaster]

Wow this is pretty big isn't it? 5 years is not a long time from now. Ford wants to be on the leading edge.

 

[SlimySnake]

thats great. like a 1000 people die in ohio due to car crashes every year. thats a crazy high number. i just need to survive for another 5 years.

 

[FelixOrion]

5 years sound naively optimistic

 

[Phantast2k]

Wow this is pretty big isn't it? 5 years is not a long time from now. Ford wants to be on the leading edge.

I'm also surprised at the rate of development.

5 years sound naively optimistic

Consider that they aren't really planning to replace your regular car in 5 years:

Expect level 4 cars to take quite a while longer to reach private hands. "The economics simply don't make sense," Nair said. But the cost of operating a taxi or shuttle bus without having to pay a driver to operate it makes a more compelling case. Indeed, Uber is hard at work in Pittsburgh testing a self-driving car of its own for just that reason.

 

[platocplx]

very interesting. so they are looking at a 2021 goal. As long as the cars are using infared etc this should be really good. seems like they are trying to get ahead of it.

 

[Jisgsaw]

No way in hell can they manage city traffic in 5 years. Or then only for selected few cities, where the driving habits aren't horrendous.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

I welcome our autonomous overlords. Can't wait.

 

[AstroNut325]

Good. The sooner the better.

 

[KorrZ]

Awesome. I'm fully behind the autonomous car revolution.

I just can't see a scenario where I trust the average human being with a 5 ton death machine more than a computer.

There are way too many HORRIBLE drivers out there.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

5 years sound naively optimistic

There are other reasons to put a stake like that in the ground. There is quite a bit of legislation that will need to be written to support this, and the point Ford is making is this: start now.

If you say 10 years, then everyone just yawns and goes back to BAU.

 

[Mr.Mike]

That means no level 3 autonomous Ford. Nair said that Ford's researchers still haven't found a satisfactory solution to the problem of returning control to a human driver in a safe manner (a level 4 car by contrast has no steering wheel and requires no human control beyond inputting the destination).

Yeah, I always disagreed with the idea that the human should take over in some emergency. They're not going to be able to deal with the situation better than the computer anyway.

 

[TAJ]

So did they hack Google?

 

[Raynes]

Wow this is pretty big isn't it? 5 years is not a long time from now. Ford wants to be on the leading edge of murder.

Fixed. Enjoy your self-driving death machines.

 

[TwEE-N-Toast]

Terrifying. I couldn't image ever letting my guard down riding in one of these.

Unless I'm good and drunk.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Not a chance my first self-driving car would be a Ford.

 

[Timeless]

The self driving car revolution makes me sad that companies are competing instead of collaborating. I think the technology is too important to leave any manufacturer in the dust; they should just be buying in to an industry group that shares innovations.

This can save lives, and because Google and Uber have to get their cash the rollout is going to be slower.

 

[SummitAve]

The self driving car revolution makes me sad that companies are competing instead of collaborating. I think the technology is too important to leave any manufacturer in the dust; they should just be buying in to an industry group that shares innovations.

This can save lives, and because Google and Uber have to get their cash the rollout is going to be slower.

Commie!

There is likely more collaboration going on than one might assume. Especially when people move between the companies.

 

[whitehawk]

This is so exciting. Can't wait until the day I can drive to the bar and still drive back.

 

[FStop7]

One step closer to Wall-E.

 

[The Technomancer]

Uh yes please

 

[Septimus Prime]

I think I'll pass until Honda or something makes one.

 

[Dinokill]

I'll past. I like driving.

 

[UraMallas]

Cannot wait. In 10 years, I'll be able to buy a level 4 car cheap. Fuck you taxis/Ubers home at 2am. (Although I'll be 43, then. Kids don't know how good they'll have it.)

I just thought of something else - this will help with parking space congestion. Your car will be able to drop you off and go back home into your garage and then come back and pick you up.

 

[shira]

The self driving car revolution makes me sad that companies are competing instead of collaborating. I think the technology is too important to leave any manufacturer in the dust; they should just be buying in to an industry group that shares innovations.

This can save lives, and because Google and Uber have to get their cash the rollout is going to be slower.

5-6 different driving AI's what could possiblie go wrong?

 

[Beartruck]

Yeah, I always disagreed with the idea that the human should take over in some emergency. They're not going to be able to deal with the situation better than the computer anyway.

Unless the computer malfunctions due to age and wear, which is a nontrivial concern.

Or it doesn't understand its driving into an accident, like that tesla driver who had his top half sheared off by a semi.

Or maybe the simple fact that nobody tests these things in a chicago blizzard, where snow sticking and freezing to the car could obscure sensors while said sensors have trouble even telling where the road is due to all the snow.

Im optimistic about this technology, but true 100% autonomous 100% safe cars are a pipe dream.

 

[John Kowalski]

I'll past. I like driving.

I was kinda thinking of moving to bikes tbh.

5-6 different driving AI's what could possiblie go wrong?

It's what happens when five different companies think they're creating the standard way to do things.

 

[Kyuur]

5-6 different driving AI's what could possiblie go wrong?

Yeah, surely that will be worse than the current millions of people with subtle driving differences.

 

[Herbspiceguy]

Autonomous driving cars can't come soon enough imo. I just hope they're going to invest in cyber security. My main concern is that they'll be susceptible to hackers.

 

[jstripes]

How are they progressing on the handling of rain? Last time I read anything, rain still blinded the sensors.

 

[loaf of bread]

One step closer to Wall-E.

Yes because we get so much exercise by steering the wheel in a car.

 

[entremet]

Millions commute via mass transit already. No attention required.

It's funny how hard you guys find autonomous vehicles so out of this world and exotic. It's just a more personalized bus. Your kids will be none the wiser. And their kids will laugh at us looking back at this bygone era.

Wake up, Luddites.

 

[turmoil]

Is there any chance of them being EVs? It won't feel too futuristic otherwise.

 

[CrazyDude]

Millions commute via mass transit already. No attention required.

It's funny how hard you guys find autonomous vehicles so out of this world and exotic. It's just a more personalized bus. Your kids will be none the wiser. And their kids will laugh at us looking back at this bygone era.

Wake up, Luddites.

Kind of like how back when car were first introduced. "Horseless carriages!"

 

[Kthulhu]

Millions commute via mass transit already. No attention required.

It's funny how hard you guys find autonomous vehicles so out of this world and exotic. It's just a more personalized bus. Your kids will be none the wiser. And their kids will laugh at us looking back at this bygone era.

Wake up, Luddites.

Not an option for the US. We have created our entire country to run on cars.

Fixed. Enjoy your self-driving death machines.

Self driving cars are already better than humans at driving. This technology will literally save lives.

So did they hack Google?

If I recall correctly, Google and Ford created a company together for unknown reasons. Wouldn't be surprised if this is the result.

 

[robosllim]

Unless the computer malfunctions due to age and wear, which is a nontrivial concern.

Or it doesn't understand its driving into an accident, like that tesla driver who had his top half sheared off by a semi.

Or maybe the simple fact that nobody tests these things in a chicago blizzard, where snow sticking and freezing to the car could obscure sensors while said sensors have trouble even telling where the road is due to all the snow.

Im optimistic about this technology, but true 100% autonomous 100% safe cars are a pipe dream.

If their only aim is ride sharing in a slow-moving city environment, then sure, maybe there's no need for human intervention. The car can just pull over to the side and stop if it gets too confused and the passenger can just get out.

But you're right, any autonomous car that will need to be able to drive in ANY situation will need the option for human input. In addition to what you listed, there's just the idea of parking. What if you need to park on grass, like, say, at a festival? Or what if you get stuck in snow or mud and need that human finesse to get out?

 

[jstripes]

Millions commute via mass transit already. No attention required.

It's funny how hard you guys find autonomous vehicles so out of this world and exotic. It's just a more personalized bus. Your kids will be none the wiser. And their kids will laugh at us looking back at this bygone era.

Wake up, Luddites.

Buses still have drivers.

 

[BlackLagoon]

...I'm now imaging the societal consequences of every bus, truck and taxi driver being laid of in the course of a few years. And then all the diners, gas stations and other service establishments that rely on them for a lot of their business closing down subsequently.

 

[Beartruck]

Kind of like how back when car were first introduced. "Horseless carriages!"

All horses did was pull the car. Pretty easy to replace. Driverless cars are trying to replace a functioning human brain. That is very, very hard to replace. Skepticism is warranted.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

 

[turtle553]

I can see driverless vehicles used to get between major well travelled hubs. Even as a taxi when it can just pull to the side of the road. But it will take a long time before one can get into unmarked areas, like parking decks or responding to traffic cops guiding people.

 

[Log4Girlz]

I don't see fully driverless working at all.

 

[Crisco]

I mean, the 2017 Mercedes E-class features basically a better version of the Tesla Autopilot. They will beat Ford and everyone else to the market with a full autonomous car, I can almost guarantee it. They've had the best approach to this from start. From a bunch of disparate sensor and avoidance systems, tuning them to perfection, and then finally synergizing them into a single platform.

 

[John Kowalski]

I don't see fully driverless working at all.

Would nonetheless be a good technology to have in times of new cities and stuff, what with space exploration and shit. Much like recent history has designed urban spaces to benefit automotive industries, future cities will probably be designed to benefit self driving car manufacturers.

The best option would be to have both technologies working in unison to the benefit of any particular situation's needs. Driverless will probably not benefit most people driving in places with little or damaged infrastructures, like most rural places in the world. There's a very strong sense of zealous urbanism about self driving that's very off putting to be honest, but one tries to see good where good is i guess.

 

[JordanN]

All horses did was pull the car. Pretty easy to replace. Driverless cars are trying to replace a functioning human brain. That is very, very hard to replace. Skepticism is warranted.

I already question that when I look at todays' drivers.

 

[entremet]

Not an option for the US. We have created our entire country to run on cars.



Self driving cars are already better than humans at driving. This technology will literally save lives.



If I recall correctly, Google and Ford created a company together for unknown reasons. Wouldn't be surprised if this is the result.

We are taking about cars, just self driving ones.

 

[Beartruck]

*Looks at Drumpf*

Are you sure?

I said functioning brain.

 

[Wyndstryker]

As much as I love driving, I for one welcome our new driverless overlords.

Being able to commute virtually anywhere in a relaxing manner is too good of a future to avoid.

 

[Javaman]

What do you do if a driverless car is blocking a road or driveway? There's no way to tell it to gtfo.

 

[Kthulhu]

What do you do if a driverless car is blocking a road or driveway? There's no way to tell it to gtfo.

Call someone to tow it like a normal car.