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New sensors may put Ford ahead of autonomous pack

April 9th, 2016  |  Canadian Business

Yesterday Ford made an exciting announcement with regards to its development of its autonomous driving capabilities.

According to Autoblog, the North American auto giant will be the first manufacturer to use a new LiDAR sensor by Velodyne called “Ultra Puck”. These new sensors are designed to eliminate the shortcomings of previous sensors’ ability to map surroundings at night and in situations that are beyond control like worn out road markings or bad weather.

The sensor improves upon previous models with its ability to target a narrower field of view. Ford has been testing the new sensor and was able to have a test vehicle complete a course in total darkness without headlights. The main name of the game with autonomous development has been to equip the cars with the ability to deal with any and all possible dangers while on the road. While many developers have focused on figuring out how a driverless car should behave in real life driving situations. Instead Ford has been focusing more on making sure its car will be able to work in various troublesome environmental conditions.

While the sensor is currently available only in limited quantities, Velodyne plans full production for the 4th quarter of 2016.