Business
Ford Takes A Step Closer To Self-Driving Cars
(Forbes) – Ford Motor Co. says it is moving closer to producing fully autonomous vehicles, vowing to bring various driver-assist technologies to its entire lineup within five years and naming a 29-year veteran to head up autonomous vehicle development.
Randy Visintainer, director of product development quality, will lead a global team focused on delivering cars that will one day drive themselves. But for now, Ford’s focus is on making more widely available certain driver-assist technologies that can help you brake in an emergency or stay between lanes, for example, or get in or out of a tight parking space.
Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development, Raj Nair, said these technologies are the building blocks for increasingly capable semi-autonomous operation. But he said the industry is still in the first of five development stages toward fully autonomous driving.
“It’s a really big step from these driver assist technologies to fully autonomous vehicles,” Nair said, without offering a timetable for driverless cars.
