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Ford collaborates with new artificial intelligence company

Kgaogelo Letsebe
By Kgaogelo Letsebe, Portals journalist
Johannesburg, 14 Feb 2017
Ford and Argo AI will be developing a virtual driver system for the automaker's autonomous vehicle.
Ford and Argo AI will be developing a virtual driver system for the automaker's autonomous vehicle.

Ford has announced its plans to invest $1 billion in Argo AI over the next five years in a bid to develop a virtual driver system for the automaker's autonomous vehicle.

The collaboration supports Ford's intent to have a fully autonomous, SAE level 4-capable vehicle for commercial application in mobility services in 2021. According to Wikipedia, a SAE level 4 capable vehicle means the automated system can control the vehicle in all but a few environments such as severe weather. The driver must enable the automated system only when it is safe to do so. When enabled, driver attention is not required.

Argo AI is an artificial intelligence company based in Pittsburgh, US founded by CEO Bryan Salesky, an expert of Google's self-driving team, and Peter Rander, who led autonomous efforts at Uber up until September 2016.

The company says the investment in Argo AI is part of its strategy to bring self-driving vehicles to market in the near term and create technology that could be licensed to others in the future.

"The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile, and autonomous vehicles will have as significant an impact on society as our moving assembly line did 100 years ago," said Ford President and CEO Mark Fields. "As Ford expands to be an auto and a mobility company, we believe that investing in Argo AI will... strengthen our leadership in bringing self-driving vehicles to market in the near term and by creating technology that could be licensed to others in the future," he added.

Ford Smart Mobility has also been included in the partnership to lead on the commercialisation strategy for the self-driving vehicles. This includes choices for using autonomous vehicles to move goods and people, such as ride sharing, ride hailing or package delivery fleets.

The automaker will be the majority stakeholder in Argo AI, albeit the company has been structured to operate with substantial independence. Argo AI employees will share in the start-up's growth through the company's equity participation. The company's board will have five members: Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president, Global Product Development, and chief technical officer; John Casesa, Ford group vice president, Global Strategy; Salesky; Rander; and an independent director.

The motor company will continue to lead on development of the vehicle hardware platform, as well as on systems integration, manufacturing, exterior and interior design, and regulatory policy management while Argo AI's initial focus will be to support Ford's autonomous vehicle development and production. In the future, Argo AI could license its technology to other companies and sectors looking for autonomous capability.

"We are at an inflection point in using artificial intelligence in a wide range of applications, and the successful deployment of self-driving cars will fundamentally change how people and goods move," said Salesky.

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