Ford continues to roll out new and innovative safety technology in its vehicles with each passing generation, which includes a full suite of features in vehicles like the 2021 Ford F-150. But the newest piece of Ford safety tech might just be the most impressive to date. Dubbed the “Data-Driven Road Safety Tool,” it can reportedly predict potential traffic incident hot spots.
The new piece of Ford safety tech, which is currently undergoing testing, uses data collected from various sources including connected vehicles, roadside sensors, and info from local authorities to predict which locations are likely to become road safety hot spots, as well as the root causes of what makes them deemed as such.
Ford Mobility is developing the new tool alongside partners including the Oxfordshire County Council, AI sensor specialists Vivacity Labs, and leading academics from Loughborough University’s Transport Safety Research Center, with support from Transport for London, and has received financial backing from Innovate UK, the government-backed innovation fund.
Up to 700 passenger and commercial vehicles will be voluntarily connected across Oxfordshire and London as part of the 18 month project, which starts this summer. Detailed telematics data from the fleet of vehicles – such as brake or accelerator pedal usage and steering wheel angle – will be analyzed alongside information from up to 25 additional smart sensors to be provided in Oxfordshire by Vivacity Labs, a specialist in traffic capture and classification.
Vivacity’s roadside sensors employ machine learning algorithms to detect near-miss incidents and are able to analyze movement patterns of vulnerable road-users such as cyclists and pedestrians, as well as non-connected vehicles. All data shared by the sensors is anonymized with video feeds discarded at the source, enabling safer roads without intruding on privacy.
“This project enables us to extend our AI research into road safety, while also providing the opportunity to work with experts at Loughborough University and explore a wider integration of our system into Ford’s Mobility ecosystem,” said Peter Mildon, chief operating officer, Vivacity Labs. “Unlocking the potential road safety benefits of Vivacity’s existing traffic sensor network has been a goal for us for some time, so it’s rewarding to see this underway in London and Oxfordshire.”
The insights and analysis gathered from the project will be used to further prove and develop the digital road safety algorithm and tool into a scalable, commercial product to benefit cities and citizens around the world. The consortium will also seek to uncover further real-world applications for predictive road safety-related insights.
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