Ford conducted test runs of automatic driving cars on snowy roads, and in the future we plan to jointly develop with Google

Ford, a major automobile manufacturer, conducted a running experiment on a snowy road using an automatic driving vehicle developed by the company and disclosed that it is running well even under snow conditions where road signs and lanes are difficult to distinguish Did. In addition, Ford and Google are also seeing a joint venture to launch an automatic driving car development.

Driverless Ford tackles snow problem - BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35280632

A movie containing a state of experiments that Ford made public is like this. You can see how smoothly running without causing slip or lane departure.

Ford's Industry first autonomous vehicle tests in snow - YouTube


Ford, headquartered in Michigan, USA, is a snowy land, and for Ford who develops automatic driving cars, it is one of the challenges that automatic driving under snowy conditions can not be avoided.


While considering the evolution of future automated driving vehicles, traveling in the condition of snow as well as rain is one of the requirements that can not be ignored. It is said that Ford is developing a vehicle that can handle such a situation.


It is possible to run even in bad environment by combining the information grasped by the sensors mounted on the vehicle and the information on the combination of nearby maps.


Multiple rotating devices are mounted on the ceiling of the vehicle. These are devices called Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar), which emit laser light to capture and capture the surroundings at high speed. While "radar" used in airplanes and the like uses radio waves, this Lidar has a difference that it uses laser light.


Lidar is designed to be able to recognize the surrounding situation by simultaneously scanning surrounding buildings and road signs as well as surrounding roads.


Furthermore, by checking with detailed map data of the same area, it is a system that can grasp the correct road and lane positions. The original data seems to be saved in the data center when weather is good.


By combining these systems, Ford said that he succeeded in experimenting an automatic driving car that can run even in the snow situation.


The townscape used in the experiment is like this being made of Haribote.


Even in a situation where lanes are not visible at all, a vehicle that stops at the next lane with the vehicle stopped in front.


By letting these systems learn further, Ford says that even in slippery situations such as snow and rain it will be possible for a stable running like a veteran driver.


Although Ford is undoubtedly in the development of an automatic driving car, he is the chairman of the company's founder familyWilliam Clay Ford Jr.Mr. is also focusing on Ford's reform as a company. In the rise of the power of a new automobile manufacturer such as Tesla, we urge the sense of crisis that the historic Ford is approaching an era that can not be described as safe, seek out a way to survive by transforming oneself I suspect it is. Under such circumstances, it has been reported that Ford has the possibility of jointly developing a joint venture with Google to develop an automatic driving car, and there will be active movements in this field in the future That's right.

Ford's Chairman Is on Quest to Reinvent Auto Maker - WSJ
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fords-chairman-is-on-quest-to-reinvent-auto-maker-1452488462

Ford and Google are still consideringing making self-driving cars together, WSJ says | The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/11/10750524/ford-google-alphabet-self-driving-cars-wsj

For joint venture that Ford and Google are supposed to advance, it is also possible to see in detail in the following article.

Google and Ford set up a joint venture in self-driving car business - GIGAZINE