As Ford prepares itself for mobility challenges of the future, self-driving or autonomous vehicles will become an integral part of the script.
‘Further with Ford 2015’ had a series of sessions at Palo Alto which dwelt on this theme. Ken Washington, Vice-President, Research and Advanced Engineering, said autonomous technology has already had a profound impact on people’s lives.
Today, there are driver-assist technologies in the form of lane departure warning, forward collision warning and rain-sensing wipers. Semi-autonomous technologies include lane keeping, traffic jam assist and collision mitigation while fully autonomous technologies control all aspects of steering, braking and acceleration.
Ford expects autonomous vehicles to become a reality within five years or even earlier. It started a research plan in 2013 on the Fusion platform with the University of Michigan and more recently with Stanford. Washington reiterated that this was an advanced engineering programme and just not research. “This is an important and exciting time for us. The next phase is product development,” he said.
Autonomous cars
The ingredients in the drive towards fully autonomous technologies include sensors, algorithms, high powered processing, connectivity, high resolution mapping and vehicle integration. Washington said autonomous technologies would open up new opportunities and redefine daily commute. Yet, he admitted, there would be some fundamental questions concerning drivers, pedestrians and passengers.
For instance, human beings are “good at reading intent” on roads and it will be interesting to see if autonomous vehicles can do something like this vis-à-vis pedestrians.
“There are three key questions: What does the autonomous car look like, what does it do and how much autonomy it will have?” posed Genevieve Bell, VP of Intel Corporation. Washington said people would be ready to embrace the concept. It was important to have insurance companies engaged in the debate as also multiple stakeholders involved. He was confident people would become comfortable eventually with autonomous cars even though there could be some levels of resistance displayed initially. “The right set of conditions is important for the technology to be successful. It is also up to customers to choose between these cars or continue with their existing vehicles,” added Washington.
Ford is also taking into account changing demographics across the world in its mobility roadmap. Sheryl Connelly, who is the company’s global trends and futuring expert, spoke of trends where people are getting married late or more women are being added to the billionaires list. In cars, men look at innovation, power and technology while women check out on children seats and ways of coping with traffic jams.
Next generation
Another interesting aspect is Gen Z, born after 1993, and whose mantra is: ‘Good things come to those who act’. As the Ford event document says, they will not let age, education, employment or lack of resources stop them from making their mark on the world.
Gen X, the products of the ‘60s are seen as being sceptical while Gen Y, which followed two decades later, is tech savvy and the pioneers of the digital age. According to Ford, both Gen Y and Z are poised to change the landscape of the world. Gen Y likes SUVs, buys a new vehicle in 18 months while 56 per cent of Gen Y and Z like sharing rides.
Today’s youth in China and the US believe it is better to be a rebel than follow conventional rules. Samples drawn from the US, China, Brazil, Germany and Japan, show they are drawn to companies and brands that are rebellious while 80 per cent of adults worldwide admire unconventional solutions to problems. All these inputs are critical to Ford’s mobility solutions going forward.
What is even more interesting is that the stigma of failure has disappeared and has now become something to flaunt. In Silicon Valley, failure has actually become a bragging right. Studies have shown that in Brazil, Germany, Japan and the US, people brag more about failure than they did in the past.