As we journey into the future of autonomous driving, Ford steps up the game with the release of BlueCruise 1.3. This latest version of their advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is aimed at enabling drivers to keep their hands off the wheel for extended periods, particularly those who own BlueCruise-equipped cars.
Ford Latest Release: BlueCruise 1.3
In contrast to its predecessor, BlueCruise 1.3 has been designed to stay more engaged through tighter corners and more accurately position the vehicle in narrow lanes. According to Ford’s executive director of advanced driver assist technologies, Sammy Omari, these may not be revolutionary changes, but they are part of Ford’s mission to iteratively improve their offerings based on customer feedback.
From Quarterly to Weekly Updates: Ford’s Agile Approach
Upon joining Ford from the $4 billion Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture, Motional, Omari helped transition Ford’s software release frequency from quarterly to weekly. This quick turnaround responds to real-time customer feedback, particularly those instances when the BlueCruise system prompts the driver to take control of the vehicle.
The Future of BlueCruise: Looking beyond Highways
While the current features of BlueCruise have allowed more drivers to spend more time hands-off, Ford is not stopping here. Their vision for future iterations of this technology goes beyond protected highways and aims to navigate drivers on rural and even urban streets, expanding the areas where customers use their vehicles most.
Eyes-off Driving: The Next Frontier for Ford
The limitations of the current hardware in the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning mean that eyes-off driving, where the car can fully take care of itself in some situations, is not yet feasible. However, Omari hints at plans for a more advanced driver assistance system that could potentially navigate drivers off protected highways and into rural and urban streets. This leap forward in technology will require hardware redundancy and more sophisticated software, planned for Ford’s next generation of EVs, expected in 2025.
From Argo AI to Latitude AI: Ford & The Strategic Shift
The shift from Argo AI to Latitude AI was a strategic move to focus on deployable technologies that can be added to passenger vehicles quickly and profitably. Latitude’s mission isn’t to create fully autonomous shuttles, but to create an affordable package for Ford consumer vehicles that will allow drivers to take their eyes off the road, transforming the driving experience significantly.
Ford’s leap forward with BlueCruise 1.3 is a significant milestone in the journey toward autonomous driving. The swift evolution of this technology hints at a future where driving is more comfortable, safer, and far more technologically advanced.
We invite you to share your thoughts on the BlueCruise 1.3 and the future of autonomous driving in the comment section below. Do you think autonomous driving is the future? How comfortable would you feel with hands-off or eyes-off driving? Let’s start a conversation!
