Ford launches new automated driving tech subsidiary scaling back from fully autonomous vehicles
Ford Motor Co. on Thursday announced the formation of a unit that will develop automated driving technology for the automaker’s vehicles.
Dubbed Latitude AI, the unit will be a wholly-owned Ford subsidiary that initially will focus on developing a hands-free, eyes-off system for next-generation Ford vehicles, according to a news release.
The announcement comes months after Ford disbanded Argo AI, a self-driving vehicle technology company in which the automaker was a major investor along with Volkswagen AG. Ford said in October that it was shutting down Argo due to the immense challenges and steep costs associated with developing Level 4 fully self-driving advanced driver assistance systems. Executives said continuing down that path would have required at least five more years and billions more dollars in investment in Argo after Ford previously expected to bring Level 4 ADAS technology to market by 2021.
Instead, executives said Ford would focus on L2+ and L3 ADAS systems. Ford hired about 550 Argo employees to continue working on ADAS technology for the automaker, in areas including machine learning and robotics, mapping, and cloud platforms.
“We’re optimistic about a future for L4 ADAS,” CEO Jim Farley said at the time, “but profitable, fully autonomous vehicles at scale are a long way off, and we won’t necessarily have to create that technology ourselves.”
In announcing the creation of Latitude, Ford said the initiative supported its “strategic shift” to focus on Level 2 and Level 3 autonomy for personal vehicles.
Latitude’s work will build on Ford BlueCruise, Ford’s hands-free highway driving system.
“We see automated driving technology as an opportunity to redefine the relationship between people and their vehicles,” Doug Field, Ford’s chief advanced product development and technology officer, said in a statement. “Customers using BlueCruise are already experiencing the benefits of hands-off driving. The deep experience and talent in our Latitude team will help us accelerate the development of all-new automated driving technology – with the goal of not only making travel safer, less stressful and more enjoyable, but ultimately over time giving our customers some of their day back.”
The decision to shut down Argo – which analysts regarded as a setback for the autonomous vehicle industry – contributed to Ford posting a net loss in the third quarter of 2022, thanks to a $2.7 billion noncash, pretax impairment Ford recorded.
At the time, Field, a former Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. engineer, said the work Argo was doing was “what I consider to be the hardest technical problem of our time. It’s harder than putting a man on the moon to create an L4 robotaxi that can operate in a dense urban environment, safely, and navigate to its destination.”
Latitude will be headed up by Sammy Omari, executive director of ADAS technologies at Ford. Peter Carr will serve as chief technology officer overseeing Latitude’s product and technical development. And David Gollob will serve as president, overseeing business operations.
“The expertise of the Latitude team will further complement and enhance Ford’s in-house global ADAS team in developing future driver assist technologies, ultimately delivering on the many benefits of automation,” Omari said in a statement.
Latitude is based in Pittsburgh, where Argo was headquartered. The team will be supported by additional engineering hubs in Dearborn, Michigan, and Palo Alto, California, Ford said. The unit also will operate a highway-speed test track in Greenville, South Carolina.