Gallery: Ford's Skipping the Trickiest Thing About Self-Driving Cars
FORD01Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
Ford's working on autonomous capability with a fleet of self-driving Fusion hybrids.
FORD02Hero Shot
Each car has four LIDaR sensors to scan its surroundings.
FORD03Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
Ford's testing the cars around Dearborn, with plans to expand.
FORD04Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
In five years, it wants to offer a no kidding, fully autonomous car.
FORD05Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
What’s funky is, Ford doesn’t plan to build anything that will bridge the gap between that robo-vehicle, and what it’s selling now.
FORD06Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
That's because it wants to avoid one of the trickiest obstacles in the world of autonomous driving: how to handle the transfer of control between computers and humans.
07Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
“Right now, there’s no good answer, which is why we’re kind of avoiding that space,” says Dr. Ken Washington, the automaker’s VP of research and advanced engineering.
FORD08Automated Fusion Hybrid Research Vehicle
Ford's expected self-driving car will be restricted to certain geographic areas, where Ford can supply the extremely detailed maps fully autonomous cars will likely require.
