Ford establishes hands-free, eyes off driver assist system – Latitude AI

A subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, Latitude AI, based in Pittsburgh, is developing a hands-free, eyes-off-the-road automated driving system, the company said Thursday.

Latitude adds to Ford’s team of machine learning, robotics, software, sensors, systems engineering, and operations talent as the automotive manufacturer grows and expands, officials said. Other developments in automated driving technology by the company include Ford BlueCruise, with has more than 50 million miles of hands-free driving accumulated.

“We see automated driving technology as an opportunity to redefine the relationship between people and their vehicles,” said Doug Field, chief advanced product development and technology officer of Ford Motor Company. “Customers using BlueCruise are already experiencing the benefits of hands-off driving. The deep experience and talent in our Latitude team will help us accelerate the development of all-new automated driving technology – with the goal of not only making travel safer, less stressful, and more enjoyable but, ultimately over time, giving our customers some of their day back.”

Latitude will be “reimagining the customer experience by automating driving,” the company said, especially during times when driving is tedious, stressful, and unpleasant. The company said studies indicate that the average U.S. driver spends nearly 100 hours in traffic.

The move supports Ford’s strategic shift to focus on automated driving technologies for personally owned vehicles. The company has hired an estimated 550 employees of Argo AI. Sammy Omari, ADAS Technologies at Ford, will serve as Latitude’s CEO. Peter Carr has been appointed chief technology officer, and David Gollob will serve as president.

“We believe automated driving technology will help improve safety while unlocking all-new customer experiences that reduce stress and in the future will help free up a driver’s time to focus on what they choose,” said Omari. “The expertise of the Latitude team will further complement and enhance Ford’s in-house global ADAS team in developing future driver assist technologies, ultimately delivering on the many benefits of automation.”