On Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. announced its blueprint for expanding its outreach in the world of autonomous driving. Among the many ideas that Ford has in store are plans to put fully autonomous ride sharing and hailing vehicles on the road by 2021, as well as plans to expand its operations in Silicon Valley, California. To do this, Ford is either investing in or partnering with four different companies that work in the field of driverless technology.




“The next decade will be defined by automation of the automobile, and we see autonomous vehicles as having as significant an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago,” says Ford President and CEO Mark Fields.




The goal for Ford is to create driverless vehicles for ride sharing and hailing, a move being dubbed by many as “driverless Uber,” so that they can be on the road and functional in five years. These vehicles will be without a steering wheel or gas and brake pedals. Testing of these vehicles will take place in California, Arizona and Michigan, with plans to test more vehicles in the near future to continue improving on current technology.




“We’re dedicated to putting on the road an autonomous vehicle that can improve safety and solve social and environmental challenges for millions of people — not just those who can afford luxury vehicles,” adds Fields.




To help with its continued development in the field of autonomy and driverless cars, Ford has enlisted the help of four companies: Velodyne, SAIPS, Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC and Civil Maps. Each company, using expertise in its respective field, will help Ford bring the idea of these fully autonomous vehicles to reality.




In regards to the expansion efforts in its company-affiliated headquarters in California, Ford is doubling its staff on its Palo Alto campus. For the expansion in Silicon Valley, two new buildings will be built in the current location and 150,000 square feet worth of work and lab space will also be added.




“Our presence in Silicon Valley has been integral to accelerating our learning and deliverables driving Ford Smart Mobility,” says Ken Washington, vice president of research and advanced engineering at Ford. “Our goal was to become a member of the community. Today, we are actively working with more than 40 startups and have developed a strong collaboration with many incubators, allowing us to accelerate development of technologies and services.”




The Palo Alto campus currently has a working staff of more than 130 people, which includes researchers, engineers and scientists.




Ford’s entire press release can be read via this link.

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