In the fourth generation test vehicle, the components needed to meet the commercial service of autonomous driving are integrated. At the same time, the Escape hybrid version will also become the architecture and platform of Ford's self-driving online service. Based on this architecture platform, the Ford Autopilot R&D team will continue to conduct performance testing and improvement to fully prepare for the final release of production models.
More advanced road awareness
On the fourth-generation self-driving test vehicle, Ford upgraded the whole set of sensors, including more advanced lidar, higher resolution camera and more powerful radar sensors:
The new long-distance 128 line lidar has higher resolution and can realize 360-degree panoramic scanning.
Compared with the third generation test vehicle, the fourth generation adds a brand-new near-field camera and short-range laser radar to detect the front and sides of the vehicle, and also adds a camera at the rear of the vehicle to monitor the situation behind the vehicle in real time.
The newly upgraded sensor system not only helps to improve the detection ability of test vehicles to static and dynamic objects around them, but also greatly improves the detection ability of moving objects in visual blind areas, such as passing vehicles and bicycles on non-motor vehicles, and so on.
More detail-oriented sensor cleaning system
Based on the road test feedback of Ford's third-generation self-driving test vehicle, Ford's self-driving team also improved the sensor cleaning system to ensure that the sensor is not affected by rain, dust, debris and insects under various conditions, so that the vehicle's "field of vision" is always clear.
A hidden high-pressure air cleaning system is installed around the camera and lidar sensor to keep the camera and sensor clean 360 degrees.
Increase the number and coverage area of cleaning nozzles, strengthen the pressure and improve the cleaning speed.
The newly added near-field camera and short-range lidar also have this new cleaning system.
On the basis of the above improvements, and adding hydrophobic coating on the sensor equipment, the latest test vehicle will have a more powerful and reliable sensor cleaning system.
A stronger power supply
In order to ensure that the sensor and computing system of the test vehicle have enough power, the Escape hybrid vehicle has strengthened its power supply capability, which not only supports the further integration and improvement of the battery pack, but also optimizes the design of the liquid-cooled battery under the vehicle. At the same time, the capacity of high-voltage battery is increased to meet the operation requirements of automatic driving system, and a larger battery pack is also helpful to reduce fuel consumption.
Lay the foundation for the commercialization of autonomous driving.
Currently, Ford and Argo AI are conducting autonomous driving technology tests in six cities in the United States, including Detroit, Pittsburgh, Austin, Miami, Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto, California. This is also the largest urban road test conducted by autopilot system developers so far. Ford will gradually integrate the fourth-generation self-driving test vehicles into the current North American self-driving test fleet, thus laying the foundation for the launch of self-driving commercial services.