Google has been testing autonomous cars for a very long time, but Ford is probably the first well-known automobile manufacturer to do the same in California next year.
The company has acquired the official rights to test their cars even amidst times when concerns over safety are increasing at a rapid pace. It has been confirmed that Ford has a strong presence in the field of autonomous cars and have invested over 10 years into researching the industry. They earlier unveiled the Fusion Hybrid in the year 2013 which was one step closer towards making cars run on their own.
At least two dozen vehicles from Google have been making rounds in different parts of the United States. Even though, they have had very few crashes and that too with majority of them owing to mistakes committed by other human drivers, safety concerns still loom large. Ford has decided to go with the particular location because it is the headquarters for the search engine giant and their slew of autonomous cars.
While the company has officially revealed a huge press release statement, there is no significant information on how they plan to handle the safety issues. Ever since self-driving cars came into being, understanding human signs on the road and cultural behaviour has been a tough call for most cars.
Deciding whether to brake, move or save the pedestrians is a big question that autonomous cars should answer before they go mainstream. Besides, there are many insurance companies who have second thoughts about insuring a vehicle which is driven by a computer and not by a person who may know what to decide in a critical situation.
Amidst such issues, Ford is taking a bold step towards the future of automobile industry and will test their cars in California next year. The company’s Palo Alto team has worked and invested a lot of man hours to make this a possibility, claimed the company in their press release. We have to wait for a couple of months to see how the audacious venture turns out when it hits the roads and how the cars handle real life situations.
