Global manufacturer Ford has predicted that all drivers will be able to keep their hands off the wheel while driving as automated vehicles could be rolled out as soon as 2026.
Ford boss Jim Farley said the company is “really close” to having the technology ready for drivers to use, saying they could treat their vehicles as a portable office.
Speaking in a recent interview, Farley remarked how the manufacturing team is getting close to finalising the automated vehicle technology.
The self-driving technology would come just in time for the British rollout of the Automated Vehicles Bill which flew through Parliament this year.
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Level 3 autonomy will allow drivers to be hands and eyes off the road
FORD
The Act looks to regulate the growing interest in automated vehicles as the UK looks to position itself as a world leader in self-driving technology.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Farley said: “We can do it now pretty regularly with a prototype but doing it in a cost-effective way is just the progress we’re going to need to make.
“Level 3 autonomy will allow you to go hands and eyes off the road on the highway in a couple years so then your car becomes like an office."
He continued that having a “hands-free” device would allow drivers to do conference calls in their car alongside “all sorts of stuff”.
The Ford boss said the Level 3 autonomy vehicles could come as soon as 2026. The level represents the autonomous ability the car can go without needing human intervention.
This means that while in the car, the driver could be working, watching films and even sleeping as the vehicle technology is in control.
Ford currently offers a “hands-free, eyes on” technology through its BlueCruise platform which offers a self-driving function to certain car models.
The five radars within the system track the position and speed of other vehicles, while a forward-facing camera detects lane markings and speed signs.
Ford is the latest manufacturer to announce plans for self-driving technology and follows closely behind Tesla.
The electric vehicle giant is expected to unveil its self-driving “Robotaxi” system this summer at a highly-anticipated conference on August 8.
The Elon Musk-led brand revealed recently that it would be ditching plans to manufacture an affordable electric vehicle and instead focus on self-driving taxis, which it views as “the future of mobility”.
The step away from EVs, the bread and butter for the brand, comes as harsh tariffs introduced by the Biden administration would deter Chinese-made cars from being sold in the US.
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The boss of Ford claims automated vehicles could be in production by 2026
FORDUnder the current rules, the US is set to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-goods to help drive domestic sales.
