Photo: Ford
It seems to be taking companies forever to come up with the long-ago promised self-driving vehicles. Sure, we have the hardware and software in Teslas, and the countless driver assistance features already deployed by others, but these are not actually self-driving cars and, despite the many flamboyant announcements made on a regular basis here and there, it seems there is no end in sight for this evolution of the automobile.
The latest such announcement comes from a trio that comprises carmaker Ford, ride-hailing company Lyft, and self-driving technology company Argo AI. The three have joined forces and promise another revolution in this emerging industry, starting later this year.
More to the point, about 100 Ford self-driving cars, running Argo AI tech, will become part of the Lyft fleet and take on passengers in Miami. Florida, as of later this year, and in 2022 in Austin, Texas. The small number of cars will be self-driving, but not unsupervised, as Ford says safety drivers will be on deck to step in if need be.
The collaboration is a sort of a test run, to see how things work, but also to see how such a service could be scaled in the future. Over the next three years, the companies plan to have 1,000 autonomous vehicles on the Lyft network in various markets.
During the tests, Argo “will use anonymized service and fleet data from Lyft to overcome the challenges faced by other autonomous vehicle companies by focusing on where they can build a sustainable business and validate deployment through localized safety data.”
No info on the financial aspects of the collaboration between the three parties has been provided, apart from the fact “Lyft will receive 2.5% of the common equity of Argo AI as part of the licensing and data access agreements.”
More to the point, about 100 Ford self-driving cars, running Argo AI tech, will become part of the Lyft fleet and take on passengers in Miami. Florida, as of later this year, and in 2022 in Austin, Texas. The small number of cars will be self-driving, but not unsupervised, as Ford says safety drivers will be on deck to step in if need be.
The collaboration is a sort of a test run, to see how things work, but also to see how such a service could be scaled in the future. Over the next three years, the companies plan to have 1,000 autonomous vehicles on the Lyft network in various markets.
During the tests, Argo “will use anonymized service and fleet data from Lyft to overcome the challenges faced by other autonomous vehicle companies by focusing on where they can build a sustainable business and validate deployment through localized safety data.”
No info on the financial aspects of the collaboration between the three parties has been provided, apart from the fact “Lyft will receive 2.5% of the common equity of Argo AI as part of the licensing and data access agreements.”
Google News