Ford announced at CES 2016 last week that it plans to launch 13 electric cars by 2020. Now, the automaker has revealed that it is testing self-driving cars that will run on the roads during harsh winter weather conditions.
The company is testing fully autonomous prototypes cars in the snow in it’s Michigan Mcity testing facility. The test vehicles use LiDAR and high-resolution 3D mapping technology to read signs, major landmarks and topography on the road. A LiDAR sensor uses short pulses of laser light to help create a 3D image of the car’s environment of around 200 meters around and senses nearby objects. These sensors are used as the camera and other sensors fail to work during heavy snowfalls and rains as the obscure the car’s cameras. The 3D maps will be created in partnership with the University of Michigan’s college of engineering.
Testing autonomous vehicles in sunny weather? You bet. Testing in harsh, snowy weather? We do that too. #FordNAIAS pic.twitter.com/nJVoP1Wv2c
— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) January 11, 2016
Google and other automakers are also testing autonomous cars but they are being tested in normal weather conditions. Last month a report claimed that Google and Ford are in talks to build self-driving cars. Check out the small video released by Ford to know more about the autonomous car testing in snow.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vShi-xx6ze8