Driverless Car in Mcity (Photo : Facebook)
Ford joins companies such as Google, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Tesla, and Toyota, which have received California permits to test their self-driving cars on the Golden State's highways and byways. The auto giant will soon start its road tests of a fleet of driverless Ford Fusion Hybrid sedans, in Silicon Valley.
Executives of the automaker have reported that the company is already testing a Ford Fusion hybrid on a closed course, according to Los Angeles Times. Now that it has received a permit from the California Autonomous Vehicle Testing Program, it can start road tests. They will begin in January 2016.
Ford chose the San Francisco Bay region for various reasons. They include the hilly roads; high number of pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles; and California's rules of the road.
James McBride is the founder of Ford's autonomous vehicle program. He shared that the robot car's operator will monitor the driving controls, while a systems expert will observe the auto's sensors.
The company will first test the vehicle's sensors, and then start logging driverless miles in the latter half of 2016, according USA Today. Ford will also test its Fusion Hybrid cars in its Mcity driverless car testing facility at the University of Michigan.
Before the driverless cars hit the road, Ford must create routes and make very detailed maps. The Detroit suburb automaker has already tested Fusions equipped with 360-degree cameras that give the vehicle a full field of vision.
Pre-loading the smart car with maps and routes will allow it to focus on short-term issues. They include a child running across the road to get a toy, or pieces of tire lying on street lanes.
Ford hopes to produce a "Level 4" autonomous car in the future. It could handle all driving situations and would never require driver input.
The company's payroll includes over 100 engineers and scientists laboring at its Research and innovation Center in Palo Alto, California. They are working on autonomous car issues such as fuel efficiency and safety.
Search giant Google is taking a different approach to developing self-driving vehicles. Rather than adding new driver-assisted features to current models, it is using a "moonshot" game plan that includes teaming up with automakers such as Lexus to focus on building a fully-autonomous vehicle.
Here's Ford's self-driving cars being tested at Mcity:
