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Latitude AI will deal with autonomous driving expertise for Ford automobiles. | Supply: Ford

Ford as we speak launched Latitude AI, a subsidiary creating new automated driving expertise. The corporate will deal with making a hands-free, eyes-off-the-road automated driving system for next-generation Ford automobiles.

This new self-driving firm is taking up 550 workers that have been a part of Argo AI, Ford’s earlier self-driving undertaking that was shut down in October 2022. These workers labored throughout machine studying and robotics, cloud platforms, mapping, sensors and compute methods, check operations, methods and security engineering. 

Latitude AI will assist Ford’s strategic shift that got here final yr to focus extra on creating automated driving applied sciences for personally owned automobiles. This separates Latitude from Argo AI, which targeted on creating autonomous robotaxis. 

Latitude AI’s work will construct off of Ford’s hands-free, highway-driving expertise referred to as BlueCruise, which has already logged greater than 50 million miles. Latitude hopes to automate the components of driving that may be essentially the most tedious, worrying and unsightly, it stated, like bumper-to-bumper visitors or lengthy stretches of freeway. 

This shift may even set itself other than autonomous automobile corporations like Cruise and Waymo, that are each targeted on creating autonomous robotaxis, and places itself in the identical ring as Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta software program, which not too long ago underwent a recall. 

“We see automated driving expertise as a possibility to redefine the connection between individuals and their automobiles,” stated Doug Discipline, chief superior product improvement and expertise officer, Ford Motor Firm. “Prospects utilizing BlueCruise are already experiencing the advantages of hands-off driving. The deep expertise and expertise in our Latitude staff will assist us speed up the event of all-new automated driving expertise – with the objective of not solely making journey safer, much less worrying and extra pleasing, however in the end over time giving our prospects a few of their day again.”

Sammy Omari, govt director of ADAS applied sciences at Ford, will function the CEO of Latitude AI. Ford appointed Peter Carr as the corporate’s chief expertise officer, who will oversee Latitude’s product and technical improvement and David Gollob as president. Gollob can be chargeable for the corporate’s enterprise operations. 

“We imagine automated driving expertise will assist enhance security whereas unlocking all-new buyer experiences that scale back stress and sooner or later will assist unlock a driver’s time to deal with what they select,” Omari stated. “The experience of the Latitude staff will additional complement and improve Ford’s in-house world ADAS staff in creating future driver-assist applied sciences, in the end delivering on the numerous advantages of automation.”

Latitude AI is headquartered in Pittsburgh, the place Argo AI was positioned and has further engineering hubs in Dearborn, Michigan and Palo Alto, California. The corporate additionally operates a highway-speed check observe facility in Greenville, South Carolina.