Skip to main content

Ford to triple investment in semi-autonomous cars

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Ford president and CEO Mark Fields said that the company will triple engineering investment in driver assist technology, speeding the roll-out of semi automated systems that make it easier to park and drive in heavy traffic as the company continues to expand its Ford Smart Mobility plan. Fields’ keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona focused on Ford’s transition from an automotive company to an auto and a mobility company through Ford Smart Mobil
February 23, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 278 Ford president and CEO Mark Fields said that the company will triple engineering investment in driver assist technology, speeding the roll-out of semi automated systems that make it easier to park and drive in heavy traffic as the company continues to expand its Ford Smart Mobility plan.

Fields’ keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona focused on Ford’s transition from an automotive company to an auto and a mobility company through Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, customer experience, and data and analytics.

Fields also confirmed that FordPass, the company’s new customer experience platform, debuts this year in Europe. New partners for FordPass include BP and mobile parking payment company Mobile City. FordPass also will integrate Ford Carsharing, run with Germany’s Flinkster Carsharing. 7374 Parkopedia, the global database for parking spaces, allows all FordPass members to search for parking, based on location, cost, availability and user ratings. In addition, as an on-street parking payment provider, Mobile City will help to provide a more seamless parking experience by enabling drivers to pay fees through FordPass.

The company has a dedicated team developing driver assist technology that is focused on delivering increasing levels of automation.

Traffic Jam Assist helps the driver with steering, braking and acceleration in heavily congested traffic situations on motorways. Easily activated by pushing a button, the system helps keep the vehicle centred in the lane and brakes and accelerates to keep pace with the vehicle in front.

Fully Active Park Assist will help drivers by steering and controlling the transmission, throttle and brake to seamlessly pull into a parking spot at the touch of a button.

Further semi-autonomous technologies already introduced by Ford include  Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection, a camera- and radar-based system that detects vehicles and people in the road ahead; and Intelligent Speed Limiter, which could help prevent drivers from exceeding speed limits, and potentially from incurring costly speeding penalties.

“As we look to the future, it is clear we are on the cusp of a revolution in mobility – from car sharing to autonomous driving to the customer experience,” Fields said. “Technology and innovation provide us with the opportunity to address these trends and to make people’s lives better by changing the way the world moves.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS World Congress examines challenges of autonomous vehicles?
    December 11, 2015
    The 2015 ITS World Congress opening ceremony saw PSA Peugeot Citroën executives arrive in an autonomous vehicle, so the International Benefits, Evaluation and Costs (IBEC) Working Group’s dedicated session proved very timely.
  • Get connected at ITS European Congress in Lisbon
    February 20, 2020
    The way connectivity is transforming how we plan and deliver mobility will be discussed in detail at this year’s ITS European Congress in Lisbon from 18-20 May.
  • In-vehicle intersection violation Warning system
    January 31, 2012
    Mike Schagrin, ITS Joint Program Office, RITA, and John Harding, NHTSA, describe US progress towards an in-vehicle Intersection Violation Warning system. In 2008, there were 37,261 fatalities on US roadways. Of these, 7,772, some 20.8 per cent of the total, were defined as intersection crashes or intersection-related crashes. Through a multi-agency research initiative led by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has developed a prototype In
  • TRW takes first step towards lane centring technology
    December 4, 2013
    TRW’s latest Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) technology, incorporating closed loop control, has gone into production for the first time on two vehicle platforms for the European market. LKA integrates data from a video camera sensor with electrically powered steering (EPS) to apply a short counter-steer torque via the steering system to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from unintentionally leaving the lane. In conventional LKA systems, the technology is only active when the vehicle is close to t