Ford has unveiled its next-generation Fusion Hybrid autonomous development vehicle, reinforcing its intention to deliver a high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle for ride sharing by 2021. The car will make its appearance at next year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January.
Although it continues to use the Fusion Hybrid as a base, Ford has blessed the self-driving car with upgraded computer hardware to allow for more processing power, as well as an improved virtual driver system. The virtual driver system is essentially the “brain,” assessesing the car’s surroundings, making decisions and navigating the car.
The new aesthetics you see here are also part of the new sensor suite, where instead of four LiDAR sensors, there are just two. Each offers a more targeted field of vision, and are repositioned to allow the car to better see its environment. Unlike its predecessor, the new sensors also have a sleeker design and ensures the car no longer looks like it has antlers (now they’re horns).
This new testbed will be integral in Ford’s quest to have a SAE-defined level 4-capable vehicle. According to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), level 4 is referred to as “high automation,” and doesn’t require a driver for driving mode-specific performance even if the driver “does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene.”
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