Cars and Wheels

Ford declares war on Tesla and Google with new $4bn self driving car unit - and says it will have cars on the road in three years

New unit will include systems integration, research and engineering
Will be based at Ford's Corktown campus in Detroit
Ford and BMW both plan to deploy self-driving cars in 2021

Ford said it would invest $4 billion through 2023 in its newly formed autonomous vehicle unit, Ford Autonomous Vehicles, as it looks to produce self-driving cars in the next three years.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker said the new unit would include self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engineering.

It will go up against Google parent Alphabet's Waymo, Uber, Tesla and doxens of other into the lucrative market.

Ford recently announced a collaboration with Miami-Dade County in Florida to test its self-driving vehicle business model on the streets of Miami and Miami Beach. The No. 2 U.S. automaker said the new unit would include self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engineering.

'Ford has made tremendous progress across the self driving value chain – from technology development to business model innovation to user experience,' said Jim Hackett, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company.

'Now is the right time to consolidate our autonomous driving platform into one team to best position the business for the opportunities ahead.'

The unit, which would be headed by Vice President Sherif Marakby, will be based at Ford's Corktown campus in Detroit and will hold Ford's ownership stake in Argo AI - its Pittsburgh-based partner for self-driving system development.

Ford said the $4 billion investment includes the $1 billion it announced in Argo AI last year.

Ford and BMW both plan to deploy self-driving cars in 2021.

Tesla has talked about creating a network of self-driving cars and Uber says it is sticking with a development effort despite an accident in which its self-driving car killed a woman in Arizona.

The No.1 U.S. automaker General Motors Co already has an autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise, which it acquired in 2016.

'The evolution of computing power and IT have helped bring great products to customers – from cars to tablets,' Hackett said.

'We can now harness this technology to unlock a new world of vehicle personalization, supply chain choreography and inventory leanness that rivals any industrial model in the world, said Hackett.

'We're looking at every part of our business, making it more fit and ensuring that every action we take is driven by what will serve our customers in a way that supports our fitness and performance goals,' Hackett said.

HOW DO SELF-DRIVING CARS 'SEE'?

Self-driving cars often use a combination of normal two-dimensional cameras and depth-sensing 'LiDAR' units to recognise the world around them.

In LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanning - which is used by Waymo - one or more lasers send out short pulses, which bounce back when they hit an obstacle.

These sensors constantly scan the surrounding areas looking for information, acting as the 'eyes' of the car.

While the units supply depth information, their low resolution makes it hard to detect small, faraway objects without help from a normal camera linked to it in real time.

In November last year Apple revealed details of its driverless car system that uses lasers to detect pedestrians and cyclists from a distance.

The Apple researchers said they were able to get 'highly encouraging results' in spotting pedestrians and cyclists with just LiDAR data.

They also wrote they were able to beat other approaches for detecting three-dimensional objects that use only LiDAR.

Other self-driving cars generally rely on a combination of cameras, sensors and lasers.

An example is Volvo's self driving cars that rely on around 28 cameras, sensors and lasers.

A network of computers process information, which together with GPS, generates a real-time map of moving and stationary objects in the environment.

Twelve ultrasonic sensors around the car are used to identify objects close to the vehicle and support autonomous drive at low speeds.

A wave radar and camera placed on the windscreen reads traffic signs and the road's curvature and can detect objects on the road such as other road users.

Four radars behind the front and rear bumpers also locate objects.

Two long-range radars on the bumper are used to detect fast-moving vehicles approaching from far behind, which is useful on motorways.

Four cameras - two on the wing mirrors, one on the grille and one on the rear bumper - monitor objects in close proximity to the vehicle and lane markings.