Ford in talks with Google to build self-driving cars — Automotive News

Google is said to be in talks with automaker Ford Motor Co (F.N) to help build the Internet search company’s autonomous cars, Automotive News reported, citing a person with knowledge of the project.

The contract manufacturing deal, if finalised, is expected to come during the annual International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas during the first week of January, Automotive News said.

A Google spokesman told Automotive News that the company would not comment on speculation, although Google officials confirmed that the company is talking to automakers.

Earlier this year, Google began discussions with most of the world’s top automakers and assembled a team of traditional and nontraditional suppliers to speed efforts to bring self-driving cars to the market by 2020.

In June, Google began testing tiny, bubble-shaped self-driving prototype vehicles of its own design on public roads around Mountain View. The company has also started testing self-driving prototypes in Austin.

Google is expected to make its self-driving cars unit, which will offer rides for hire, a stand-alone business under its parent company, Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), next year, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Ford, although lagging behind most competitors, ramped up its pace to develop self-driving cars earlier this year and said it would expand advanced safety technology, including automatic braking, enabling hands-free operation of cars under certain conditions by automating such basic functions as steering, braking and throttle.

This was to be included across its global lineup over the next five years.

Reuters could not independently reach Ford Motor and Google for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

soure: interaksyon.com

Sweden joins race for self-driving cars

STOCKHOLM — A hundred self-driving Volvo cars will roll onto public roads in and around the Swedish city of Gothenburg in 2017, the Chinese-owned car maker said Monday.

The pilot initiative, called “Drive Me”, has a 500 million kronor (56.3 million euros, $76.2 million) budget and is a joint venture between the manufacturer and several public institutions, such as the Swedish Transport Administration and the city of Gothenburg.

“We aren’t the world’s biggest country, we aren’t the world’s largest car maker, but we make up for that by being smarter and working together in a simpler way,” Volvo Cars chief executive Haakan Samuelsson said at a news conference in Stockholm promoting the public-private partnership.

The first driver-less cars will have a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour (43.5 miles per hour) on some 50 kilometers of selected roads including commuter routes with heavy traffic.

The project will begin in 2014 with customer research and technology development.

Self-driving cars receive data through a 360-degree camera system, GPS and other sensors which act as eyes and ears to navigate safely and avoid collisions.

The “non-drivers” participating in the project will receive training to properly use the cars, which are expected to respond to everyday traffic situations and to park themselves.

The introduction of self-driving cars raises legal questions particularly around liability, which today always lies with the driver.

“We need to look at the legislation,” Infrastructure Minister Catharina Elmsaeter-Svaerd said.

Other car makers — and even US tech giant Google — are also competing to be the first to bring self-driving cars to the public.

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan announced plans to have its first models ready by 2020.

source: interaksyon.com