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Ford Plans a Fleet of Fully Autonomous Cars Operating in a Ride-Hail Service By 2021 (recode.net)

Posted by msmash on from the autonomous-future dept.

Ford will mass-produce autonomous vehicles without steering wheels by 2021, Ford chief executive Mark Fields said today at the Ford Research and Innovation Center in Palo Alto, California. Recode reports:Fields announced that the company is working toward launching a fleet of commercial, level 4 (one level below a completely autonomous system, in which drivers don't have to be engaged) vehicles in a ride-hail service by 2021. The details of that ride-hail service -- such as which company Ford will partner with to operate it -- still haven't been determined. As part of that effort, Ford is investing in Velodyne, a self-driving tech company, and is working with three other startups. Ford has acquired Israel-based computer vision and machine learning company SAIPS, struck up an exclusive licensing agreement with machine vision company Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC and, as previously announced, invested in 3-D mapping startup Civil Maps.

7 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. subject by Sowelu · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thank you for choosing Johnny Cab

  2. Interesting by ErichTheRed · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Your Car in the Cloud.

    Makes sense given the sentiment everyone seems to have about not owning anything these days. Renting living space is way up, companies aren't buying their own computers and data centers anymore, companies don't even own their own core assets like buildings and office furniture. Everything is a creaky tower of outsourcing from the coffee pots to the building management systems.

    I'd actually be happier if Ford ended up doing this first instead of Google. I love the idea of a self-driving car, but don't really like the idea of Google having full access to yet another facet of everyone's lives.

    1. Re:Interesting by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Sometimes it just makes sense. Leasing instead of owning means you have a lot more flexibility, your capital isn't tied up, and if you lease something that turns out to be not to your liking, your headache will be an organisational rather than a financial one. My brother's small company actually owned their office but had to move to something larger, and then that office turned into a financial millstone around their necks (try selling any office space in this area post 2008, ha ha). Same happens with people who have to move for whatever reason (or worse: go through a divorce) and need to sell their house, but can't.

      In the long run, owning is cheaper and you can do whatever you want to your property, but in a lot of cases that freedom isn't very important to people or companies. And when it comes to cars, I suspect that it will be a lot cheaper to rent an autonomous car instead of owning one in case that (second) car is not used daily. There is some convenience to owning a car; you can leave your crap in there and have it as dirty or clean as you want, it's always there to be used at a moment's notice. But if you're not using it every day anyway, who cares?

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  3. In olden days. by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

    (This is not totally all my comment, but based on something I saw on CL of all places)

    In olden days when someone was driving their car and had a heart attack and died, the car would veer off the road and just crash. But instead in the age of driverless cars that dead body is simply going to be served up at the destination, albeit somewhat ripe.

    Imagine the fun when little Johnny runs out to greet the car that brought his dear granddad to Johnny's birthday party!

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  4. Ford: Sued out of existence... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... Introduce cars passengers can't control in 2021, see them crushed by insurance lawsuits in 2022. Unless, of course, they can totally change liability law before that.

  5. FMC is smoking crack by kheldan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In 5 years we still won't have 'fully autonomous, self-driving' cars, they'll still be full of bugs and flaws, and there's no fucking way I'd step into one and have no manual control over direction and speed.

    * * * DO NOT WANT !!! * * *

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  6. Re:Do not want by stabiesoft · · Score: 3, Informative

    All I know is my state farm policy just made it crystal clear that if you are using your car logged into a ride share (with or without an active passengers) you are NOT covered for ANYTHING. If you want coverage for that add option XXX. My rates stayed exactly the same without the option. No idea what they charge for the option.