FORD IS CONDUCTING PILOTS AND TESTING IN AND AROUND THE MICHIGAN CENTRAL IMPACT AREA TO BUILD MOBILITY SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE.
Over one year, Ford, along with its non-profit philanthropic subsidiary, the Ford Motor Company Fund, began the self-contained fresh food delivery program that delivered new food items to the doorsteps of seniors who live in Southwest Detroit. The service was integrated into the Ford Fund’s current activities, FREC on the GO, which delivers healthy meals to the entire community. This particular pilot is coming close to its end. Residents are in the zone and would like to receive fresh food deliveries in the near future; you can contact 313-806-0370.
If you’re situated in the Michigan Central impact area, you will be able to see our bus circling. Even though we’re not doing deliveries, we’re still building and researching autonomous vehicles and ways we can make use of intelligent infrastructure and telecom operations to communicate with our cars and add a layer of security. Our vehicles will always have humans as safety operators in the driver’s seat.
FAQ
What’s the reason Ford is closing its pilot program? Ford is conducting research and testing various solutions within and within in the Michigan Central impact area to aid in improving mobility and the ways goods and people move in the near future. Many autonomous forms of technology could be utilized in the near future to transport people and items, and our independent delivery pilot was an example of this. We intend to explore autonomous technology, and FREC on the Go will continue to provide healthy food through its drive program. We will also apply the lessons we learned from our pilot program and use it in the future.
How do people sign to sign up for FREC on the go? If residents live within the FREC program’s area and would like to receive an order of fresh food in the future, you can call 313-86-0370.
Why is your vehicle continuing to travel within the Michigan Central impact area if the pilot you were in has ended? While our delivery pilot using FREC in the go has terminated, we continue to operate our shuttle to construct and study the autonomous technology and ways to use smart infrastructure nodes as well as Teleoperations to connect to our vehicles and add a layer of security. Our cars will always have an individual safety driver in the driver’s seat.
What is the technology included in this Ford infrastructure smart node? The Ford-designed infrastructure nodes were specifically designed to assist vehicles that are autonomous in navigating through difficult and busy intersections. They are fitted with lidar, radar cameras, and sensors. These are the same technologies used in an autonomous vehicle that allow it to be able to see and navigate without the assistance of a human driver. The combination of sensor technology lidar, radar, and cameras enables Ford’s nodes to connect with its autonomous shuttle in order to assist in providing it with the maximum amount of information. In turn, this adds a layer of protection.
What is the way that the infrastructure node functions? It is located above an intersection. Ford’s infrastructure node has an entire view of the situation in all directions. It also provides the “bird’s eye view” of information to aid in the development of an autonomous vehicle that is also studying the immediate environment at the street level. Equipped with lidar, radar sensors, and cameras with cameras and sensors, the Ford infrastructure node is quick to relay information to the autonomous vehicles, letting them know what they’re traveling towards when they enter an area or a situation.
What kind of information is being recorded on Ford infrastructure nodes? This Ford infrastructure node is used for one goal – helping vehicles that are autonomous navigate difficult and congested intersections. The nodes aren’t capable of recording personal information or detecting license plates. The technology only recognizes silhouettes of objects, such as static signs or moving cars or bicyclists, so the autonomous vehicle is able to anticipate behavior and make intelligent choices.
Is this kind of data accessed by any third party? Data captured by the smart infrastructure node will not be distributed to any third party, including law enforcement, government, or any other agencies. The data is only used by Ford to assist in communicating with the vehicle and for research purposes.
Why would you need this infrastructure element? The Ford-designed infrastructure nodes add an extra layer of protection for autonomous vehicles, providing them with as much data as they can to help navigate difficult and congested intersections. For instance, when a bus or truck blocks a sensor of the autonomous vehicle’s direct line of vision, the car will detect even more quickly if another vehicle is coming from the other direction at a dangerous speed.
Does it be the case that Ford’s infrastructure smart node remains “on”? No. It is not. Ford’s infrastructure intelligent node has only one goal – to aid an autonomous vehicle in navigating difficult and crowded intersections. This means that our nodes can only be used when our autonomous vehicle is in operation.
