Ford, MIT and Standford band together to further the cause of automated driving research

In order to reach automobile utopia of the future, Ford needs to lay the foundations of that dream today. That is why the car maker has chosen to join forces with the brightest minds from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Standford University to help it achieve its goal of making tomorrow's roads safer and more efficient with cars that have eyes, ears, and even a dash of common sense.

Ford's vision of the future is outlined in its Blueprint for Mobility, a set of goals and programs that it has put in front of its eyes to guide it towards that utopian future. It is a system that not only addresses points directly related to car manufacturing but embraces other support systems as well, which include government collaboration, infrastructure development, and research, particularly in the field of automated driving. While Ford already has some of the technology and hardware, it is looking towards these two universities to provide the much needed upgrade to the brains of the system.

Ford's research vehicles may be equipped with the latest LiDAR sensors, but that can only describe what is happening at the moment. Its research with MIT focuses, then, on trying to predict the future. By using algorithms, the car will be able to foresee where vehicles and pedestrians are likely to move after a given time, helping it to map out potential risks surrounding it and plan a path that will safely avoid such obstacles.

With Standford University, Ford is trying to develop a way for cars to see around obstacles as well. After all, it is one thing to know that there is something blocking your immediate view but another thing to know what's beyond that. This kind of "peek ahead" system can help cars and drivers determine whether it will be safe to change lanes in case of an emergency that involves a truck in front of the car.

These two research projects will be built on top of the recently unveiled Ford Fusion Hybrid research vehicle, itself a product of the car maker's collaboration with the University of Michigan and State Farm. According to Ford, drivers know that what you don't or can't see is just as important as what you can and it wants to develop a car with that same intuition or maybe even better.

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Ford Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication driving experience

Sitting in a parking lot across the street from the convention center was a driving demonstration from Ford. They were here at CES 2014 showing off the Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication technology, which is also referred to as V2V. Put in the simplest form, V2V is safety related. But to simply use the word safety without diving further into detail does it little justice.

As the vehicle-to-vehicle part of the name would suggest, this setup has the cars on the road sort of talking to each other. Basically, broadcasting signals and making sure they all know where the others are located. Ford was showing a how this setup can be used to help with blind spots, with blind corners and in times when the car in front of you makes a sudden stop.

They also showed how the V2V technology can help to protect you against someone running a red light. Before the driving began, it was made clear the demonstration wasn't making use of any radars, camera or lasers. Instead the cars being used were sending out signals using short range radio, DSRC, WiFi and GPS. The information being sent includes your current position, heading and speed. And for those worried about privacy, the data being broadcast is anonymous.

As we were told, this is basically about, "am I going to hit you or not." One of the key points we should make clear -- this does not take control of the car in any way. The driver still needs to be alert and still needs to hit the brake, or avoid moving over. The Ford V2V technology is a warning system that makes use of an audible sound, LED lights in the dash, an indicator on the side mirror and also with haptics located in the seat. To that point, the seat vibration will be narrowed down to the left or right side depending on where the potential trouble may be located.

Keeping in mind that we were being driving on a closed course with a group of three Ford vehicles, the demonstration provided did give us confidence this would be beneficial in a regular driving situation. There are some drawbacks though. For one you need to get this in cars, but there could also be an issue with overcrowding. Or maybe more accurately, with oversaturation of the network if you are in a congested area. Anyway, while you're not going to feel the vibration in the seat, the video sitting below will give you a better idea of how it works.

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Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept can go off the grid

Ford has unveiled a new concept car based on the C-Max plug-in hybrid vehicle. The concept car is called the Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept. Ford says that the car was built to deliver the best aspects of a plug-in hybrid with the ability to go off the electric grid and still operate optimally.

The concept car has a large solar panel array on the roof that is designed to get power from a solar concentrator lens. That solar concentrator lens is similar to a magnifying glass according to Ford. The concentrator lens is able to deliver intense solar rays to the solar panels on the roof of the car.

Ford claims that the result of the solar concentrator and roof solar panels is that the concept car is able to deliver the same performance as the normal plug-in C-Max without having to be plugged into an electric outlet. The normal C-Max provides 108 MPGe in the city and 92 MPGe on the highway.


Ford will have the C-Max Solar Energi concept on display at the CES 2014 show kicking off next week. Ford says that the tech the concept uses would allow 75% of all trips made by the average driver to be powered by solar energy. Ford has been in trouble with owners of the C-Max and offered small refunds for fuel efficiency that was less than promised in the real world.








SOURCE: Ford

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Tesla might sell itself to GM in 2014: analyst

Speculation is building that electric car maker Tesla Motors could become an acquisition for a major Detroit automaker -- not just a tech company like Apple.

Veteran trader Yra Harris of Praxis Trading told CNBC this week that he predicts Tesla may be sold to General Motors in the coming year.

GM, like the other Big Three automakers, has had only limited success with electric vehicles. By the end of October, GM had sold less than 19,000 of its Chevy Volts, down almost 3% from last year. Ford sells fewer than 200 Ford Focus Electric vehicles each month. Both companies offer steep discounts to lure in buyers.

Would Tesla be a good fit for GM as Harris suggested? The luxury electric vehicle maker currently has a market capitalization of more than $18 billion, after shares rose more than 5% on Tuesday on news that its Model S had kept its five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A few reported engine fires in the Model S had spooked investors. The share price fell more than 20% from its peak back in September.

Tesla reported a record 5,500 Model S deliveries in its third quarter, as well as record production, a rising gross margin and expansion of its stores, service centers and charging stations. Per-share earnings have been better than consensus estimates in the past three quarters. But share trades at a hefty 100-plus times forward earnings.

Still, as Harris said, there would be no reason for GM to reinvent the wheel when it comes to electric vehicle technology. The Model S is critically acclaimed, while the Chevy Volt has had its own issues with car fires. But it all may come down to the valuation of Tesla — and whether CEO Elon Musk is ready to part with it and move on to his next project.


SOURCE: USA Today

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