Ford wants to launch shared taxis without driver in 2021 – L’Express

Imagine: in the city, you Draw your laptop to order a taxi. This is not a driver who happens but an empty automatic car that picks you up with other passengers. The latter will start and evolve all alone until your drop point, respecting traffic rules and basic security on the road.

This is the dream in which the US automaker Ford aims to contribute by 2021. The carrier has announced the start of production in five years, fully autonomous vehicles for commercial car services shared or taxi reservation.

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“The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile (…) No flying. No accelerator pedal. no brakes. A driver shall not be required, “said Ford boss, Mark Fields.

A series of partnerships

To achieve this goal, the group unveiled a series of partnerships with start-ups, including Velodyne, a California manufacturer sensors used on autonomous cars.

Velodyne specializes in the development of laser sensors that create digital 3D images used to map the environment, locate and identify objects, so avoid collisions, first aroused by fear autonomous cars. The company says to collect accurate data to the centimeter within 200 meters.

“Our investment is a clear sign of our commitment to making autonomous vehicles available to consumers around the world,” said Raj Nair, an official from Ford.

The company also announced the acquisition of Israeli society SAIPS specialized in artificial intelligence. Finally, the group evokes an exclusive agreement with Nirenberg Neuroscience, another company specialized in artificial intelligence and vision, which is to help “make a similar intelligence to humans virtual driver of its autonomous vehicles.”

Some events in the competition

The group has tripled in 2017, for the second consecutive year, its fleet of cars without drivers used for tests to States -United. It will be about 90 vehicles.

However, Ford will have to deal with strong competition. Most major automakers, and a host of big names in the technology sector, starting with Google, are working on projects without car driver. These latter must deal with accidents experienced by Tesla, a car caught fire in France Tuesday, and that an accident has created a first victim early July.

The German BMW announced in particular the beginning of July a partnership with US Intel and Mobileye Israel to become the “number one independent car”, promising him as a serial production of here 2021.