Hot on the heels of its big investment into self-driving car sensors, Ford has today committed to having its first high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle on the road by 2021. Intended for ride-sharing, Uber-style on-demand transportation, and other commercial mobility applications, the vehicle will lack a steering wheel, acceleration-, or brake pedal.
Unlike Ford’s current autonomous research fleet, which bolts extra sensors onto existing production models like the Fusion, the fully autonomous car it plans for 2021 will be specially designed for the purpose. It’ll meet Level 4 on the Society of Automotive Engineers’ scale, which basically means that it can handle most everyday driving without the occupants getting involved. However, that’s still short of Level 5, at which point the car is able to handle every situation without the “driver” weighing in.
Ford hasn’t said exactly what the limits of its vehicle’s technology will be, but has previously demonstrated autonomous cars handling inclement conditions like snow, as well as in complete darkness.
Still, it’s a big step for a company which had previously been considered one of the more conservative among automakers on self-driving technology.
You might also like
More from Uncategorized
Here’s how much the new Huawei Nova 10 will cost you
Just when you think Huawei is done with smartphone introductions, another model rolls off the production line. This time around, …
Here’s all we know about the Honor 70
Revealed at IFA 2022 this past week, Honor's new mid-range smartphone targets the vlogging crowd with several interesting features. Chief …
FNB introduces updates to its in-app marketplace
FNB earlier today announced the launch of their single Marketplace for home, car, and services with our favourite being the …
