Ford Fusion Hybrid Driver Assist Car Project
Last Updated on March 9, 2024 4:57 pm by Jeffrey Powers
Ford unveiled a new project to help make driving safer; a part of Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility project. The Ford Fusion Hybrid Driver Assist Car Project is not a driverless car but more of a pre-emptive option so everyone can stay safe.
The Ford concept car is not going to be out on the road anytime soon and definitely will not have any weird-looking spinning cameras on the roof. When the technology is ready (10-20 years), the car will 3D model its surroundings so it can watch for any anomalies — a child running to get a ball, a deer coming out of the woods, or the car in front of the other that had to stop abruptly. The Ford driver assist will then spring into action by applying the brakes before you can.
Ford partnered with the University of Michigan and State Farm Insurance on this project. The forward thinking of this vehicle will help us understand where auto technology may go in 2020 and beyond.
This automated Fusion featured LiDAR technology (we saw this at CES 2010). While it looks like a Google street map car, this takes the idea a little further with 3D mapping. LiDAR sensors scan the road at 2.5 million times a second and bring the data back to 3D model and analyze. The Fusion can – at this time – scan a perimeter of 200 feet and create a map of the surroundings.
Although Ford announced this project to be at least 10 years out, in this creative eco-culture an independent body could easily take charge and develop something that would fit (and look good) on your car within a few years.
