The race is on but favorites and winners have yet to emerge. Click to Enlarge.
Right after the announcement that NHTSA has asked SAE to develop guidelines for the safe development and use of upcoming self-driving vehicles, Ford Motor has released a report that outlines its approach to autonomous vehicle development. (See AutoInformed.com on SAE to Administer Autonomous Testing Program*)
The 44-page document, titled “A Matter of Trust,” details Ford’s “prioritization of safety” during self-driving vehicle development, as well as how the company is working with industry and government, and how it is applying the technology to solve the challenges our cities face. It’s partly technical but looks to be largely a marketing document design to sell self-driving vehicles to potential buyers.
Ford is on record saying that it will have self-driving vehicles on the road by 2021. If so that would make Ford a leader along with Google in the new, and controversial techno approach to automobility.
There is no doubt that radical changes are coming in transportation. It’s just a question of where, when and who pays. The United Nations has identified increasing urbanization as one of the defining trends of the 21st century, for whatever that is worth. Trends are troubling. Cities are growing. With urban centers dealing with record levels of traffic and pollution. The old solution – build more roads – won’t cut it. Most U.S. infrastructure was built to meet the needs of individual vehicles.
However, most vehicles sit idle about 95% of the time. Because of this, as much as 30% of the real estate in city centers is devoted to parking. Ford notes that this growth is also causing a shift from individual vehicle ownership to the use of shared mobility options such as ride-hailing services.
Ford has created a City Solutions team to work with cities and communities to address these challenges. Ford claims to be developing” a portfolio of solutions that can help a city improve its transportation system through better orchestration of traffic, transit and the ever-growing mobility options emerging every day.”
Initially, Ford – along with many automakers – thinks self-driving vehicles will work best in a different business model: one where vehicles are accessed and shared versus owned and driven. They will operate as part of a mobility service accessed through a smartphone app for either moving people or delivering goods.
AutoInformed.com on:
*NHTSA and SAE
*NHTSA has asked SAE International to develop Autonomous vehicle safety testing protocols and guidelines. SAE formally announced this Automated Driving Systems (ADS) Safety Performance Testing Program at the end of last month during CAR’s annual Management Briefing Seminar in Northern Michigan. The initiative establishes a network with SAE, government, industry and researchers to develop and create new standards for AV testing.
The program is long, long overdue with Google and automakers such as Daimler, GM, Ford and FCA – among others – are well underway to turning loose on the untrained public semi-automated and fully automated vehicles. Waymo – the Google driverless car will be in service in Arizona this fall. Apple is expanding its fleet of driverless vehicles in California.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Ford Releases Self-Driving Vehicle Safety Assessment
The race is on but favorites and winners have yet to emerge. Click to Enlarge.
Right after the announcement that NHTSA has asked SAE to develop guidelines for the safe development and use of upcoming self-driving vehicles, Ford Motor has released a report that outlines its approach to autonomous vehicle development. (See AutoInformed.com on SAE to Administer Autonomous Testing Program*)
The 44-page document, titled “A Matter of Trust,” details Ford’s “prioritization of safety” during self-driving vehicle development, as well as how the company is working with industry and government, and how it is applying the technology to solve the challenges our cities face. It’s partly technical but looks to be largely a marketing document design to sell self-driving vehicles to potential buyers.
Ford is on record saying that it will have self-driving vehicles on the road by 2021. If so that would make Ford a leader along with Google in the new, and controversial techno approach to automobility.
There is no doubt that radical changes are coming in transportation. It’s just a question of where, when and who pays. The United Nations has identified increasing urbanization as one of the defining trends of the 21st century, for whatever that is worth. Trends are troubling. Cities are growing. With urban centers dealing with record levels of traffic and pollution. The old solution – build more roads – won’t cut it. Most U.S. infrastructure was built to meet the needs of individual vehicles.
However, most vehicles sit idle about 95% of the time. Because of this, as much as 30% of the real estate in city centers is devoted to parking. Ford notes that this growth is also causing a shift from individual vehicle ownership to the use of shared mobility options such as ride-hailing services.
Ford has created a City Solutions team to work with cities and communities to address these challenges. Ford claims to be developing” a portfolio of solutions that can help a city improve its transportation system through better orchestration of traffic, transit and the ever-growing mobility options emerging every day.”
Initially, Ford – along with many automakers – thinks self-driving vehicles will work best in a different business model: one where vehicles are accessed and shared versus owned and driven. They will operate as part of a mobility service accessed through a smartphone app for either moving people or delivering goods.
AutoInformed.com on:
*NHTSA and SAE
*NHTSA has asked SAE International to develop Autonomous vehicle safety testing protocols and guidelines. SAE formally announced this Automated Driving Systems (ADS) Safety Performance Testing Program at the end of last month during CAR’s annual Management Briefing Seminar in Northern Michigan. The initiative establishes a network with SAE, government, industry and researchers to develop and create new standards for AV testing.
The program is long, long overdue with Google and automakers such as Daimler, GM, Ford and FCA – among others – are well underway to turning loose on the untrained public semi-automated and fully automated vehicles. Waymo – the Google driverless car will be in service in Arizona this fall. Apple is expanding its fleet of driverless vehicles in California.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.