Ford announces a major breakthrough in self-driving technology, reaching Level 3 autonomy. Learn about the future of autonomous driving and Ford’s plans for hands-free, eyes-free vehicles.
Bollywood Fever: One of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers, Ford, has made a major breakthrough which could soon see customers having totally self-driving cars.
Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, revealed in an interview with Bloomberg TV earlier this month that the company had progressed to level three in its self-driving prototype vehicles. This advancement means that drivers will be able to take both their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road. Currently, drivers can drive hands-free but must stay visually alert.
Farley estimated that in two years’ time, Ford customers wouldn’t even have to look up for their car to drive itself. “We’re getting really close,” Farley said in the recent television appearance. “We can do it now pretty regularly with a prototype, but doing it in a cost-effective way is just the progress we’re going to need to make.”
He added, “Level 3 autonomy will allow you to go hands and eyes off the road on the highway in a couple of years, so then your car becomes like an office. You could do a conference call and all sorts of stuff.”
Research has found that the Ford Ranger was Australia’s favourite car last year, making this development exciting for every Ford user. While this is a major breakthrough for Ford, rival brand Mercedes-Benz is a step ahead. The prestigious automaker has already started rolling out Level 3 autonomy in its production vehicles. The US has allowed its Drive Pilot system to be used on certain highways as long as the car remains under 40 mph (64 km/h).
Meanwhile, electric vehicle maker Tesla is miles ahead of its counterparts, with a full self-driving mode already available and allowed to be used throughout the US. However, although it calls its modes ‘Autopilot’ and ‘Full-Self-driving,’ they still require the driver to oversee the car, which has landed customers in trouble in the past. Just this Thursday, a US driver behind the wheel of a Tesla slammed into a police car that was parked at the scene of another collision. The driver later claimed the crash occurred because the self-driving mode had been activated.
At the end of last year, the US traffic safety regulator recalled over two million Tesla vehicles, almost all of the cars it sold in the US, due to a risk associated with its Autopilot software. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had opened an investigation into Tesla in 2021 after its cars in self-driving modes kept colliding with emergency vehicles, similar to what happened this week.
Earlier this year, Ford’s CEO made comments that reverberated around Australia – he said he had been considering pulling out of the Australian market. Farley’s comments in February reignited fears among local dealers that the government’s proposed new emissions standards may be the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” and lead to other major brands exiting, just as Holden did in 2020.
Carmakers, dealers, industry experts, and the federal opposition have raised concerns about the Albanese government’s proposed new carbon emissions standards, slated to take effect next year, warning that motorists could expect to pay up to $13,000 more for some of the most popular utes and SUVs.
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