Ford has announced the launch of its new business unit, Latitude AI, which will focus on developing automated driving technology for future vehicles. The division will initially focus on a hands-free, eyes-off driver assist system to improve safety and the driver experience.
This move follows Ford’s $1 billion investment in Argo AI, a self-driving startup, in 2017. The plan was to combine Ford’s virtual driver system team with Argo AI’s robotics talent and expertise to develop and introduce a virtual driver system for Ford’s SAE Level 4 self-driving vehicles by 2021. However, after Argo failed to attract investors and Ford posted a $2.7 billion (pretax) loss on its investment in the third quarter of 2022, Ford decided to abandon the company.
Ford then shifted its focus from full self-driving L4 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) being developed by Argo AI to internally developing L2 and L3 tech, such as Ford’s BlueCruise. CEO Jim Farley said that there is a huge opportunity for Ford to give time back to millions of customers with this technology.
To accelerate internal development, Ford hired about 550 former Argo employees with machine learning, robotics, software, sensors, cloud platforms, mapping, and safety talent to lead the new Latitude AI division. Doug Field, Ford’s chief advanced product development and technology officer, explains that customers using BlueCruise are already experiencing the benefits of hands-off driving and that the deep experience and talent in the Latitude team will help them accelerate the development of all-new automated driving technology.
The company sees automated driving tech as an opportunity to redefine the relationship between people and their vehicles with new experiences to reduce stress and free up the driver’s focus in the future. Sammy Omari, Ford’s executive director of ADAS tech, will serve as Latitude AI’s CEO with the company’s headquarters in Pittsburg and an additional highway-speed test track facility in South Carolina.
Ford is looking to take a strategic approach by focusing on L2 and L3 systems where it already excels and can potentially pull ahead. With BlueCruise already surpassing over 50 million miles of hands-free driving and earning the top spot on Consumer Reports’ latest ADAS rankings, Ford is well-positioned to make a big impact in the automated driving industry.
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