Ford Touts Expanded Partnership With Mobileye for Next-gen Driver Assist

by Steph Willems

Published: July 20th, 2020

ford touts expanded partnership with mobileye for next gen driver assist

Despite urging buyers to venture far from the beaten path with its new Bronco, Ford knows the bulk of its customers will want to keep their tires planted firmly on blacktop, and chances are they’d like the car to handle some of the responsibilities, too.

With that in mind, Ford reached a deal with Mobileye to develop and provide a key element of the brand’s driver-assist hardware. Note that we’re not calling it semi-autonomous, and with good reason.

Reaching Level 1 and 2 autonomy is for any automaker looking to advertise added safety and limited hands-off driving, but neither level equals “autonomous driving.” Drivers must remain aware of the road ahead and ready to take over in an instant. Tesla’s Autopilot and General Motors’ Super Cruise are among the Level 2 systems out there.

Ford’s recently-announced Active Driver Assist will join the fray in 2021, appearing on such vehicles as the Mustang Mach-E, F-150, and other new-generation models. Helped into existence by Mobileye’s EyeQ camera-based system, the tech suite will keep an eye out for oncoming obstacles and intervene if necessary. With the Mobileye deal in the bag, the firm’s logo and name will appear on vehicles’ infotainment screens.

Beginning life as an Israeli startup, Mobileye soon captured the attention of Intel, which bought the firm in 2017.

Mobileye’s sensors and related software is an essential dance partner for Ford’s lane-keeping and lane-holding features, as well as collision warning and pedestrian detection. The features, found in the company’s Ford Co-Pilot360 driver-assist suite, spans the company’s vehicle range. Active Driver Assist will proliferate through the lineup once that system comes aboard.

“While Ford and Mobileye have worked together for years, this marks the first time Ford is committing to the company’s technology for the entire lifecycle of its next-generation vehicles,” the automaker said in a release. “Both parties will work with designated Ford Tier 1 providers to supply the technology for vehicle integration.”

[Image: Ford]

#DriverAssist #Ford #MobilEye #Safety #Suppliers #Technology

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 5 comments

Mcs on Jul 20, 2020

Even Tesla ditched Mobileye. Good luck Ford.

Like Reply
Andrew on Jul 20, 2020

My job retrofitted some of Mobileye's aftermarket "solutions" and they're awful. They pick up cracks in the road as lane lines and bark at you for leaving your lane, it thinks pedestrian crossing signs are actual pedestrians and I've also had it issue deafening forward collision alerts when there were no cars anywhere near me. I've also had it read a 20 mph speed limit sign as 70 and a 55 sign as 35. Yeah. Color me unimpressed.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Bryan The simple fact that the Honda has a CVT & the Toyota doesn't was more than enough for me to pick the Toyota for both of my daughters.
Theflyersfan This wagon was a survivor! These and the Benzes of that era were the take it out back and shoot it (or until you needed a part that was worth more than the car) to get rid of it. But I don't think there will be Junkyard Finds with Volvos or Benzes from this era with 900,000 miles on them. Not with everything tied to touchscreens and components tied to one system. When these screens and the computers that run them flake out, that might be the end of the car. And is any automaker going to provide system boards, memory modules, graphics cards, etc., for the central touchscreens that controls the entire car? Don't know. The aftermarket might, but it won't be cheap.
Jbltg First and only Volvo I have ever seen with a red interior!
Zerofoo Henrik Fisker is a very talented designer - the Fisker Karma is still one of the best looking cars ever made (in my opinion).Maybe car designers should stick to designing cars and not running car companies.
TheMrFreeze Techron actually works...I've personally seen Techron solve a fuel-related issue in one of my vehicles and have been using it for the last 20 years as a result. Add a bottle to the tank every time I do an oil change, have never had fuel delivery issues since.