Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Focus on Technology
March 02, 2023 12:00 PM

Ford establishes Latitude AI unit to develop automated driving tech

Latitude AI's formation underscores Ford's focus on automated technologies that support human drivers in personally owned vehicles.

Pete Bigelow
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Ford Latitude logo

    Ford is creating a wholly owned subsidiary named Latitude AI to research and develop automated driving technologies.

    Latitude's formation underscores the automaker's focus on automated technologies that support human drivers in personally owned vehicles.

    Latitude has its roots in self-driving technology: Its 550-person staff will largely be comprised of the 550 employees Ford hired from Argo AI, the self-driving startup that folded last October.

    When Ford pulled its support from Argo, it said it had decided to concentrate on the types of automated systems that support human drivers rather than eliminate their role in the driving process.

    While there are many technical similarities between the self-driving systems Argo developed and the driver-support systems Latitude is tasked with building, there is a stark, fundamental difference: One was designed for no human involvement, one will integrate human involvement.

    Latitude begins with that premise of the latter: the Pittsburgh-based company will focus on developing automation categorized as SAE Levels 2 and 3 for next-generation Ford vehicles. One of its initial tasks will be to develop a hands-free, eyes-off-the-road system, Ford said Thursday.

    “We see automated driving technology as an opportunity to redefine the relationship between people and their vehicles,” Doug Field, chief advanced product development and technology officer at Ford, said.

    Sammy Omari, executive director of advanced driver-assist technologies at Ford, will be CEO of Latitude. Peter Carr has been appointed chief technology officer of the subsidiary, and David Gollob will serve as its president.

    Based in Pittsburgh, with other engineering hubs in Palo Alto, California, and Dearborn, Michigan, the 550-member team will focus on machine learning, robotics, software and other underpinnings of assisted driving and conditional automation, Ford said.

    The subsidiary’s formation marks an expansion from the automaker’s ongoing efforts in those areas. Ford already partners with Mobileye in the advanced driver-assistance realm, and the two have worked together on Ford’s BlueCruise system, which Consumer Reports ranked as the best-available driver assistance system on the market in January.

    Drivers already have accumulated more than 50 million miles of hands-free driving using BlueCruise, Ford said Thursday.

    By contrast, no self-driving vehicles are on sale for consumers today. Ford CEO Jim Farley said self-driving vehicles, in which humans have no role in the driving process, were “a long way off” when he revealed plans to end support of now-defunct Argo last October.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Mercedes set to invest billions in German, Chinese and Hungarian plants
    Recommended for You
    Mercedes A-Class production Rastatt wheel
    Mercedes set to invest billions in German, Chinese and Hungarian plants
    Volkswagen VW Russia Kaluga factory
    VW sees all its Russian assets frozen by court
    Audi e-tron at 2022 Wuhan auto show
    Audi seeks to catch up in China in test of Germany's automotive grit
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us