RE: Ford invests $1bn into driverless cars
Monday 13th February 2017
Ford has announced that it will invest $1bn into its driverless car segment by joining forces with Argo AI. Ford is now a major shareholder in Argo, the company founded by former Alphabet (Google's umbrella company) and Uber senior driverless car executives. The company will work independently from its new owners but will bring some of the best AI engineers and robotics experts to develop Ford's virtual driver system.
Ford invests $1bn into driverless cars
Driverless technology is an expensive game
The need to get ahead of the driverless game comes after General Motors acquired Cruise Automation last year for over $1bn. Cruise is known for making an aftermarket kit to allow owners to turn their Audi A4 and S4s into autonomous vehicles for highway driving. Along with GM, Toyota has also pledged to invest $1bn into its Toyota Research Institute developing technology for autonomous cars and robot helpers around the house. These companies are battling it out to take a piece of Tesla's autonomous pie which can be used commercially and privately.
"The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile, and autonomous vehicles will have as significant an impact on society as Ford's moving assembly line did 100 years ago," said Ford President and CEO Mark Fields. In 2021, Ford intends on having a fully autonomous SAE level 4 capable vehicle for commercial use.
Discussion
Muncher said:
The end of driving as we know it is getting ever closer 
I have mixed feelings on this, I love the idea of not having to drive on my commute but not having to use public transport but I also like going for a spirited drive in the countryside, however as roads get busier and busier the opportunities to do so are reduced.Manual cars will still exist in 20 years I reckon but where and when you can use them may well be limited.
I can see driverless cars on motorways / major roads quite soon but I really can't see them working on minor roads where there aren't any road markings or the paint is patchy due to being worn. Also how are these systems going to read road surfaces? I drive on plenty of roads strewn with mud and gravel which I can't see a computer being able to cope with effectively.
I'm no luddite but I'm really not comfortable with the technology and the possible manipulation of it by government to bend us to their will. Ie how long before you have to have driverless to use the motorway network?
Where does all this leave the future of motorbikes?
I'm no luddite but I'm really not comfortable with the technology and the possible manipulation of it by government to bend us to their will. Ie how long before you have to have driverless to use the motorway network?
Where does all this leave the future of motorbikes?
Excellent stuff, I'm really looking forward to autonomous cars. I can't see the downside to being able to eat your breakfast or have a shave on the way to work, or maybe have a sleep while the car drives me to the alps overnight for some skiing. Also when I'm too old to drive properly I'll still be able to get around.
I like driving and I'll be keeping a little sports car for when I feel like doing the driving myself but automating tedious repetitive driving and traffic etc sounds great to me.
I like driving and I'll be keeping a little sports car for when I feel like doing the driving myself but automating tedious repetitive driving and traffic etc sounds great to me.
trickywoo said:
I'm no luddite but
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. As has already started, the thin end of the wedge will be with taxis, and especially commercial long haul lorries that currently have to pull over every so often due to driver fatigue. The thousands that could / will be unemployed... could be a new breed of Luddite when this really kicks in...trickywoo said:
Where does all this leave the future of motorbikes?
This plus an autonomous sat-navvy thing, presumably...Muncher said:
I suspect they will be banned or subject to punitive taxation sooner than we think.
Not until autonomous cars become very affordable, not everyone will be able to blow £20,000 - £50,000 on a fully autonomous car.There will need to be significant availability at the sub £10,000 market before the government start legislating non autonomous cars off the road.
I think they'll push for legislation next saying all new cars will need a certain level of autonomy, then 10 years after that they'll legislate more autonomy in so eventually there won't be any non autonomous cars on the road rather than just ban them.
Fetchez la vache said:
trickywoo said:
I'm no luddite but
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. As has already started, the thin end of the wedge will be with taxis, and especially commercial long haul lorries that currently have to pull over every so often due to driver fatigue. The thousands that could / will be unemployed... could be a new breed of Luddite when this really kicks in...There are some really serious big brother issues with this that worry me and its disappointing that car makers are so much behind it.
trickywoo said:
There are some really serious big brother issues with this that worry me and its disappointing that car makers are so much behind it.
This. If the authorities are worried that there might be a riot in Manchester then disable every vehicle in the city at the touch of a button, for the greater good.Prevent vehicles from entering congested routes, etc.
speedking31 said:
his. If the authorities are worried that there might be a riot in Manchester then disable every vehicle in the city at the touch of a button, for the greater good.
Prevent vehicles from entering congested routes, etc.
No different to just turning off the underground in London, which is how most people get about.Prevent vehicles from entering congested routes, etc.
ZOLLAR said:
Muncher said:
The end of driving as we know it is getting ever closer
I have mixed feelings on this, I love the idea of not having to drive on my commute but not having to use public transport but I also like going for a spirited drive in the countryside, however as roads get busier and busier the opportunities to do so are reduced.Manual cars will still exist in 20 years I reckon but where and when you can use them may well be limited.
t. You can't even get a 4G signal in significant geographical locations. You'll then have to allow another 20 years before 'old' cars are taken off the road. 2050 if they are lucky. It's a gimmick imowhy oh why are all the car companies chasing the same solution from different suppliers. Open source it! Put all the money in to one capable research organisation and then license it out to each manufacturer. This protectionist thinking is merely delaying the advent of driverless cars as the brain drain is diluted.
I also think that some of these software/autonomous drive companies are sailing a bit close the the Autonomy wind in that they've sold a promise to Ford not an actual solution. Could be a big scandal arising in the near future I reckon.
I also think that some of these software/autonomous drive companies are sailing a bit close the the Autonomy wind in that they've sold a promise to Ford not an actual solution. Could be a big scandal arising in the near future I reckon.
Has anyone stopped to think of the real consequences of having lots of fully autonomous vehicles?
1. People who cannot drive (children, old people, feckless idiots) hopping into "pods" thus many many more now clogging up an already heavily congested system.
2. Geographies will change as people will sleep whilst on the move - those pretty country places will get a lot more busy as people will be willing to commute further.
3. WAR. No need for bombs and death to cripple a country. Take out a few satellites and it's game over - all it takes is one bit of space debris and it ends up destroying other space equipment. All those GPS connected cars will be screwed.
4. Big brother. Who says what is right and wrong when it comes to shutting down grids of people on the move?
1. People who cannot drive (children, old people, feckless idiots) hopping into "pods" thus many many more now clogging up an already heavily congested system.
2. Geographies will change as people will sleep whilst on the move - those pretty country places will get a lot more busy as people will be willing to commute further.
3. WAR. No need for bombs and death to cripple a country. Take out a few satellites and it's game over - all it takes is one bit of space debris and it ends up destroying other space equipment. All those GPS connected cars will be screwed.
4. Big brother. Who says what is right and wrong when it comes to shutting down grids of people on the move?
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