Driverless cars for all by 2021?
America’s largest automobile manufacturer, Ford, plans to mass produce autonomous vehicles by 2021. It’s an ambitious goal considering we’re only four and a half years away — but Ford says they are determined to build driverless vehicles that completely eliminate the need for a human driver.
“We believe autonomous vehicles and the automation of the driver will be a significant change, perhaps as significant as the moving assembly line,” said Raj Nair, Ford’s chief technology officer and director of global product development.
This announcement comes at a pivotal time, where the trucking industry is facing major shortages in labor supply.
“One of the big problems with the trucking industry is a shortage of drivers,” Dale Rogers, a professor of logistics at Arizona State University, told Trucking.com. “This will only worsen as “millennials don’t want to be drivers.”
Can they pull through?
Ford is committed to releasing fully autonomous cars in the next four years, which means no more steering wheels and brake pedals (gasp!). They’ve been on the hunt to find self-driving technology, including acquiring Saips, an Israeli startup that specializes in computer vision; forging a licensing agreement with virtual retina company Nirenberg Neuroscience; and investing in 3D-mapping company Civil Maps.
Additionally, they also plan to expand their Palo Alto research center and invest in Velodyne, a company that uses laser sensors to detect their surroundings for autonomous vehicles.
Despite the hush-hush of the project, Nair revealed that Ford will be serving several markets, including ride-sharing and delivery services.
While the technology might be ready in four years, the question remains: will the government be onboard?
The Obama Administration recently released guidelines for companies intending to manufacture self-driving vehicles. The highest concerns are for safety and cyber security.
“Safer, more accessible driving. Less congested less polluted roads. That’s what harnessing technology for good can look like,” Obama said back in September 2016.
“But we have to get it right. Americans deserve to know they’ll be safe today even as we develop and deploy the technologies of tomorrow.”
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