Ford and Mobileye tie up to offer better camera-based anti-collision system

Ford Motor Company and Mobileye, an Intel company, are collaborating on cutting-edge driver-assistance systems across Ford’s global product lineup.

“Providing people with extra confidence while driving is invaluable, and it’s exactly what our available Ford Co-Pilot360features are designed to do," said Lisa Drake, chief operating officer, North America; vice president, Global Purchasing, Ford Motor Company. “By customising Mobileye’s excellent software and sensing technology, Ford’s great driver-assist features will continue to evolve and provide customers with confidence on the road throughout the life of their vehicles."

Mobileye will provide its EyeQfamily of devices, together with vision-processing software to support Level 1 and Level 2 driver-assistance systems in Ford vehicles globally.

Level 1 systems are defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers as automating a single part of the driving experience, such as steering or acceleration/deceleration, while Level 2 systems provide both steering and acceleration/braking support. Both require drivers to supervise performance of the vehicle.

Ford will bring Mobileye’s name front and centre through the inclusion of its logo in the company’s SYNCdriver-assist displays. For the first time, customers will be made aware that Ford is building the power of some Ford Co-Pilot360 Technology features on top of the sensing capabilities provided by Mobileye.

“It is a privilege to extend and expand our long-standing collaboration with a company that is so committed to safety on behalf of its global customer base," said Professor Amnon Shashua, president and CEO, Mobileye. “We look forward to working closely together to bring these functionalities to market in the full Ford product lineup."

As part of the high-volume agreement, new production vehicles will use Mobileye’s EyeQ computer chips and software to support features under the Ford Co-Pilot360 Technology. Used to help precisely identify what the windshield camera in a vehicle can see – including lane markings, traffic signs, pedestrians and other vehicles – Mobileye’s technology will support features such as Lane-Keeping System, Auto High-Beam headlamps, Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking and Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, as well as Active Drive Assist hands-free driving coming to the all-new Mustang Mach-E and all-new F-150.

Ford will take advantage of Mobileye’s technology throughout the life of its next-generation production vehicles, including F-150 and Mustang Mach-E, as well as future products that offer advanced driver-assistance systems features.

While Ford and Mobileye have worked together for years, this marks the first time Ford is committing to the company’s technology for the entire lifecycle of its next-generation vehicles. Both parties will work with designated Ford Tier 1 providers to supply the technology for vehicle integration.

Additionally, Ford is evaluating the use of Roadbook in its vehicles. Roadbook uses anonymised, crowd-sourced data from vehicle cameras to build a high-definition map that can be accessed by vehicles and leveraged by driver-assist technology, including hands-free driving features like available Active Drive Assist.

New production Ford vehicles will use Mobileye’s EyeQ3 and EyeQ4 for Level 1 and Level 2 advanced driver-assistance systems platforms. The EyeQ family is set apart from the competition by its ability to support complex and computationally intense vision processing while maintaining low power consumption even when located on the windshield of a vehicle. Building on the capabilities of its predecessors, EyeQ4 can process multiple sensors and other inputs required for driver-assist features.