Last fall, word got out that Argo AI – the Ford-backed self-driving commercial vehicle company – was being shut down, a somewhat surprising development as The Blue Oval has invested heavily in autonomous technology in recent years. However, its reasoning is actually quite simple – FoMoCo doesn’t believe that Level 4 and 5 autonomy will be profitable at any point in the near future, so instead, the company is focusing on Level 2 and 3 tech. And that’s precisely what this Ford F-150 recently spotted by Ford Authority may be testing.
Nearly two years ago, Ford Authority spotted another Ford F-150 equipped with a massive Lidar rig on its roof, carrying corner-mounted cameras as well. Then, last year, we also came across an F-150 Raptor fitted with similar equipment. It’s unclear what those particular pickups were testing, but this newly spotted Ford F-150 is equipped with a much smaller rig on its roof.
As was the case with the previous pickups, it’s unclear what, exactly, Ford is testing here, though it could be some sort of Level 3 autonomous driving technology. As Ford Authority reported earlier this month, the automaker recently hired 600 former Argo AI engineers to help it develop this tech, so that could very well be the case in this instance.
Ford recently rolled out version 1.2 of its BlueCruise and ActiveGlide hands-free highway self-driving features, adding a bit more autonomy to the mix, and the company has made it clear that it plans to continue focusing on this moving forward. As such, we may be looking at the next phase of BlueCruise’s development, one that will add even more autonomy as it evolves over the coming years.
We’ll have more on the F-150 soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, and continuous Ford news coverage.
Comments
I don’t need a Johnny Cab, I need a 6.8 V8. Ford said this engine was for the Mustang and F150. What a Great Expedition engine that would make with 455 TQ and regular gas too.
Ford never said that.
You look at this level 3 rig, and Elon Musk wants you to believe he can achieve level 5 ‘robotaxis’ with a cheap camera only system while their level 2 FSD camera based systems keeps running into parked firetrucks.
🎦 Tesla Takes a Terrible Trip:
🚒+🚗 =💥
The End.
“Ford recently rolled out version 1.2 of its BlueCruise and ActiveGlide hands-free highway self-driving features.” Who has this rolled out to? I don’t know of any 2021-2023 F-150 with BlueCruise that has received this update.
Technology for the sake of technology… newest bauble, latest greatest, new for you. There is a reason big business refers to consumers as ‘sheeple’….. because it is exactly what many of their consumers are…. ‘sheep’. This belief has ushered in the ‘fee for this’, ‘fee for that’… or my favorite, ‘a fee to not have to opt out of’…. something. The traditional goal to provide ‘value added’ benefit for buying a product has been monetized. At the end of the day, this means… all of us will be paying much more for much less…. all of which is a technology driven marketing program.
I thought only Limbaugh blathered on about sheeple, which in the most sublimely funny way turned out to be his audience.
Kevin if you watched the video from the Windsor Plant 2 years ago they did say it was for the Mustang and F150. Watch the video