Wal-Mart Testing Self Driving Cars with Ford

Unexpected thing.  With a delivery angle too.. 

Walmart to Test Self-Driving Cars with Ford, Argo AI

CNBC, Michael Wayland, September 15, 2021

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is extending its self-driving vehicle program to include Ford Motor and Ford/Volkswagen-backed autonomous car startup Argo AI, in order to trial autonomous deliveries in Miami, the District of Columbia, and Austin, TX. Customers can place order groceries and other items online for door-to-door autonomous delivery under the program. Walmart's Tom Ward said, "This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the homes of our customers with unparalleled speed and ease, and in turn, will continue to pave the way for autonomous delivery." An Argo AI spokesperson said the partners initially will deploy a small fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles in each of the three trial cities, which will expand over time. Argo AI's Bryan Salesky said the deployments will demonstrate "the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale."

Amazon Assistant to Roll on 700K Ford Vehicles

Pretty impressive rollout here.   Like to see additional novel uses as well.   My own Echo Auto continues to run well. 

Amazon’s Alexa Gets Biggest Auto Rollout in Six-Year Ford Deal By Matt Day in Bloomberg

 Digital assistant will be on 700,000 cars and trucks this year, Companies will collaborate on tools for commercial fleets

Amazon.com Inc. is deepening its ties with Ford Motor Co. in a deal that will integrate Alexa into the entertainment system of F-150 trucks and other models.

Amazon’s digital assistant will roll out to about 700,000 Ford vehicles this year, including new and recent models of the pickup, as well as the Bronco and the electric Mustang Mach-E in the U.S. and Canada. New and existing vehicles powered by Ford’s SYNC-4 in-car software will also offer drivers the option of invoking Alexa hands-free.   ... " 

Argo LiDAR has 400 Meter Range

How much does it add to effectiveness in context? 

 Argo AI says its latest LiDAR sensor has a 400-meter range

The tech could bolster Ford and Volkswagen's self-driving ambitions. In Engadget, Kris Holt @krisholt, May 4th, 2021

Argo AI has made some waves in the autonomous vehicle space over the last few years, with investors Volkswagen and Ford working on cars that use its self-driving tech. The company suggests it's taken a significant step towards bringing autonomous vehicles to roads. Argo created a LiDAR sensor that's said to have a range of 400 meters, which it believes it the longest range of any current LiDAR sensor.   .. "

Ford Has Smarter Robotics

Some interesting advances mentioned.

Ford's Ever-Smarter Robots Are Speeding Up the Assembly Line,  By Wired

In 1913, Henry Ford revolutionized car-making with the first moving assembly line, an innovation that made piecing together new vehicles faster and more efficient. Some hundred years later, Ford is now using artificial intelligence to eke more speed out of today's manufacturing lines.

At a Ford Transmission Plant in Livonia, Michigan, the station where robots help assemble torque converters now includes a system that uses AI to learn from previous attempts how to wiggle the pieces into place most efficiently. Inside a large safety cage, robot arms wheel around grasping circular pieces of metal, each about the diameter of a dinner plate, from a conveyor and slot them together.

Ford uses technology from a startup called Symbio Robotics that looks at the past few hundred attempts to determine which approaches and motions appeared to work best. A computer sitting just outside the cage shows Symbio's technology sensing and controlling the arms. Toyota and Nissan are using the same tech to improve the efficiency of their production lines.

From Wired

Google and Ford Sign Deal to Put Android into Car, onto Plant Floor

Perhaps unexpected partnership.  Recall we recently mentioned that Ford was the leader in Self Driving Car patents.  We worked with Ford and they were impressive in analytics/data analytics utilization.  The mention of in car Android method should also spread the use of voice and AI more widely un cars.  

Google Snags Ford Cloud Partnership in Coup Over Microsoft

Deal includes Google license fees for every Ford and Lincoln car sold starting in 2023

By Nico Grant, February 1, 2021, 11:00 AM   in Bloomberg

Google signed a six-year deal with Ford Motor Co. that will bring Android technology to the automaker’s cars and cloud services to its factory floor, in a triumph for the internet giant over rival Microsoft Corp.

Google Cloud Platform will be Ford’s “preferred cloud provider” and the partners will form an innovation team called Team Upshift to jointly work on future projects, the companies said Monday in a statement. Ford dashboard infotainment screens will be powered by an Android operating system starting in 2023 and the automaker will adopt Google’s artificial intelligence and data-analytics technology.

The companies did not disclose the value of their deal, but Google will receive revenue from cloud services as well as a Google apps and services licensing fee for every Ford and Lincoln vehicle sold starting in 2023.

Thomas Kurian, chief executive officer of Google Cloud, is trying to sell the Alphabet Inc. company’s computing and storage services through broad strategic partnerships. Fresh off a multiyear alliance with Deutsche Bank AG announced in December, Google has snagged Ford, a longtime Microsoft client. Google will need to continue accumulating these types of customer wins to catch cloud market leaders Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft.  .... " 

Ford and IBM Lead in Edgey Tech

Perhaps most surprised in Ford leading in autonomous vehicles, but having worked with them was impressed with their analytical system offerings.

IBM Leads in Quantum Computing, Ford in Driverless Car Patents

By Susan Decker  January 12, 2021, in Bloomberg

 American companies lead in technology innovations in 2020

Artificial intelligence, quantum computers and autonomous vehicles are among the fastest-growing areas of technology, with American companies often in the lead, according to a new study of U.S. patents issued over the past five years.

International Business Machines Corp. received the most patents in machine learning and quantum computers, while Ford Motor Co. is the most active in areas of vehicle navigation and control systems, according to the analysis by Fairview Research’s IFI Claims Patent Services.  ..." 

Comments on Ford's Manufacturing Use of AI

 In the past had many connections with Ford in analytics use, now they are talking AI.   Here where they are talking applications in manufacturing.

Ford’s Use of AI an Example of Shaping of Innovation in MIT Future of Work Session  

In AI Trends by Allison Proffitt 

 .... Jeanne Magoulick, Advanced Manufacturing Manager, Ford Motor Co.

The use of AI for predictive maintenance, anticipating when a part may fail before it does, is proving productive for manufacturing at Ford, according to Jeanne Magoulick, Advanced Manufacturing Manager, Ford Motor Co.. She spoke as a member of a panel on Shaping Technology Innovation at MIT’s recent AI and the Work of the Future Congress 2020 held virtually. 

“We are excited about predictive maintenance,” Magoulick said. “It will make us more efficient. We can identify when a machine is trending out of control and may need maintenance, so we can schedule at the next available window. It’s the next level of predictive maintenance from what we do today.”  

It also helps in the ordering of needed replacement parts. “If we know the part is going bad, rather than holding the cash in our inventory, we can order it on demand,” she said.  

AI is also being applied to vision systems, making for more powerful abilities to conduct inspections during manufacturing. ”We can find defects anywhere, including seeing paint scratches,” Magoulick said.   

In addition, AI is being applied to further automate the auto manufacturing process, with research into where to apply the innovation ongoing. “We are using machine learning to try to reduce our cycle times,” she said. “We recently reviewed a use case for transmission assembly, which reduced the cycle time slightly the first time through.”  

In addition, Ford is experimenting with the use of natural language for voice commands to communicate with machines on the shop floor. “It’s Siri for manufacturing,” she said.   

Additional areas of research include studying audio to detect quality defects, “using AI to assess what is a good and what is a bad digital audio signature,” she said. Also, Ford is experimenting with collaborative robots on the shop floor, she said.       ... " 

Quantum to Model Traffic with Simulations

Another mention of D-Wave quantum in the news.   Also the term 'Quantum-Style' is used for the first time I have seen,

Microsoft, Ford Try Using Quantum-Style Computing to Solve Seattle's Traffic Problem   By GeekWire via ACM

Microsoft and Ford Motor are using quantum-inspired computing models to try to optimize traffic management in Seattle.

Ford chief technology officer Ken Washington said timely optimization using an enormous number of possible route assignments is not feasible with traditional computers, so the partners have experimented with algorithms that simulate a quantum approach on classical systems.

The researchers tested various scenarios, including one involving about 5,000 vehicles concurrently requesting routes that spanned the Seattle area. Washington said the algorithms sent balanced routing suggestions to the vehicles in 20 seconds, improving congestion by 73% versus "selfish" routing, while cutting average commuting time by 8%.

Said Microsoft's Julie Love, “We don't have to wait until quantum computers are deployed on a wide scale to take advantage of the technology."  ... "

From GeekWire

 .... The results could be used to improve navigation apps, and could also be applied to optimization problems in fields ranging from robotics to aerodynamics.

Microsoft isn’t Ford’s only partner when it comes to traffic optimization: The automaker has also been working with NASA’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Ames Research Center, where Burnaby, B.C.-based D-Wave Systems’ quantum annealing hardware comes into play. The NASA-Ford partnership focuses on using quantum-inspired algorithms to optimize energy consumption by commercial vehicle fleets.

Separately, Ford has set up a City Insights Platform to study urban mobility issues in depth. It’s all part of Ford’s drive to think of itself as a mobility company rather than strictly a car company, particularly as it closes in on fielding fully autonomous vehicles in 2021.  ... " 

Navigating via Clues

More work on Robot navigation.   But where do the clues come from?  We already navigate from things like addresses.  But to get there precisely may need more than that.    And the hint that this will also require some common sense reasoning?

MIT and Ford help delivery robots to navigate to your doorstep
Their technique doesn't require mapping areas in advance.
By Christine Fisher, @cfisherwrites in Engadget

In order for delivery robots to drop your takeout, package or meal-kit at the door, they'll need to be able to find the door. In most cases, that requires mapping a location in advance so that the robot knows where to go. But to do that on a large scale is challenging and raises security and privacy concerns. Now, a team of engineers from MIT and Ford Motor Company think they might have an answer. They've created a technique that allows robots to navigate via clues, rather than maps.

The clues can be described in general terms, like "front door" or "garage." As MIT explains, the robot might be trained to know that a driveway often leads to a sidewalk which likely leads to the front door.  ... "

Ford Home Deliveries

Having this robot show up at the front step seems a bit scary, but I like the logic of its use.   Good additional details here from IEEE Spectrum.

Ford Self-Driving Vans Will Use Legged Robots to Make Deliveries

Agility Robotics’ Digit will bring packages from a delivery vehicle to your front door  By Evan Ackerman and Erico Guizzo

Next time you shop online, this skinny robot may show up with your package.

Agility Robotics Raises $8 Million for Commercial Bipedal Robots

 Agility Robotics designed its legged robots Cassie [left] and Digit to move in a more dynamic fashion than regular robots do.

Building Robots That Can Go Where We Go 

Cassie is a dynamic bipedal robot developed by Agility Robotics
Agility Robotics Introduces Cassie, a Dynamic and Talented Robot Delivery Ostrich
Ford is adding legs to its robocars—sort of.

The automaker is announcing today that its fleet of autonomous delivery vans will carry more than just packages: Riding along with the boxes in the back there will be a two-legged robot.

Digit, Agility Robotics’ humanoid unveiled earlier this year on the cover of IEEE Spectrum, is designed to move in a more dynamic fashion than regular robots do, and it’s able to walk over uneven terrain, climb stairs, and carry 20-kilogram packages. .... "

Getting Driverless up to the Doorstop

Most interesting is that the computing power for the 'robot' will be from the vehicle.   Good now, but I wonder if advances will make this unnecessary.   The wheel-less stork like Digit is different too..  First time I have seen such a walking device proposed.  Will make the suburbs a weirder place,  with storks patrolling the front yard.  Can I ask it to do some light chores when it stops by?

Ford’s Way to Finish Driverless Deliveries: Package-Carrying Robots 
Bloomberg   By Keith Naughton

Researchers at Ford are working to incorporate into the company’s driverless delivery system an android capable of carrying a 40-pound load. The Digit android is intended to address what self-driving researchers refer to as "the last 50-foot problem," or how to get a package from an autonomous delivery vehicle to the customer's doorstep. Ford's decision to use a robot with two legs instead of wheels came with help from researchers at the University of Michigan, who emphasized the inherent attractiveness of a bipedal robot. In addition, the Digit system gets most of its computing power from Ford's self-driving vehicle, allowing the robot to have a more lightweight design. Ford would like to deploy Digit delivery robots as soon as 2021, the same year it plans to introduce its autonomous vehicle fleets. ... ' 

Expanded Options for Trunk Delivery

The idea was mentioned some time ago. Appears to have somewhat limited appeal, say for ease of secure delivery while at work, but reports here of further uptake would indicate more than expected.  A kind of kind of connected automobile play where ordering can be made from a car, then delivered to a car, anywhere?

Ford Partners With Amazon to Enable Package Deliveries to Trunks in SupplyChainBrain

Ford Motor Co. is the latest automaker opening its vehicles’ trunks to Amazon.com Inc., entering a partnership to enable delivery of packages directly to millions of Ford and Lincoln models.

Ford follows General Motors Co. and Volvo Cars in joining with the online retailing giant to offer Key by Amazon In-Car delivery service. Beginning Tuesday, the service will be available on 2017 and newer Ford vehicles and 2018 and newer Lincoln models equipped with a modem.

Using an Amazon app in conjunction with Ford or Lincoln apps, delivery drivers can unlock the car, place packages in the trunk or back seat and then re-lock the vehicle. It’s aimed at addressing consumer concerns about the security of packages left unprotected on front porches and provides another opening for Ford as it wades into the world of e-commerce.  .... " 

Ford to Build Autonomous Vehicles

Perhaps an indication that such vehicles are not far away. Note the specifics of manufacture goals quoted in the article.

Ford to Build Factory in Michigan for Autonomous Vehicles 
CNBC  By Phil LeBeau

Ford Motor has announced plans to construct its first autonomous vehicles (AVs) at a $50-million production center in Michigan. Fabrication of the self-driving vehicles is expected to begin in 2021. The new plant will take new commercial-grade hybrid models and incorporate the self-driving technology needed to turn them into autonomous vehicles. Said Ford’s Joe Hinrichs, "This facility will be about more than just putting the brains into these autonomous vehicles. We will use the AV production center to upgrade the interiors and add the technology customers will want for a particular self-driving model.” Ford's development of autonomous and electric vehicles is at the core of CEO Jim Hackett's plan to remake the automaker. .... "

Ford Researching Autonomous Taxis

Its likely that taxi and delivery services will commonly launch before consumer use, so do expect more of this.

Ford to expand autonomous-car research in race to launch robo-taxi service  By Trevor Mogg in Digitaltrends

The Future of Ford Motors

Ford has already set out its ambitious plan to launch taxi and delivery services using autonomous vehicles by 2021, and is working steadily in a bid to achieve its goal.

Already testing its autonomous technology in Detroit, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., the car giant is now preparing to extend its operations to Austin, Texas, TechCrunch reported this week, citing sources familiar with the matter.  .. " 

Ford Working on Robot Delivery

More self driving delivery.   Ford it seems is a new player.  The customer process of retrieving goods from a driverless vehicle should be interesting.  But likely inevitable.

Ford teaming up with Walmart and Postmates on robot deliveries
Self-driving vehicles delivering groceries in Miami
By Andrew J. Hawkins   @andyjayhawk

Ford is joining forces with Walmart and Postmates to create a grocery delivery service using self-driving vehicles in Miami, the companies announced Wednesday.

Ford has been using Miami as a test bed for its self-driving vehicles since earlier this year. And more recently, the auto giant joined with Postmates to see how people ordering takeout food would interact with an autonomous delivery van.

Now Ford is moving to the next stage: grocery delivery. The company says it will experiment with different vehicle types, as well as modifications to those vehicles needed to keep perishable food items fresh. It will also experiment with a variety of scenarios, such as multiple deliveries on one trip and the user experience of retrieving delivery items from a fully driverless vehicle. ... " 

Ford Looks for Common Car Language

Makes lots of sense.

Ford asks for a common language for self-driving cars
It wants every car to signal its intentions the same way.

Jon Fingas, @jonfingas in Engadget

Ford has been developing its own means for self-driving cars to communicate their intent, but it also knows that fragmentation could be a huge problem in the autonomous driving world. How are you supposed to know what cars are doing when each one has a different visual cue? Accordingly, Ford has issued a memorandum of understanding that asks the industry to create a signalling standard for cars capable of at least SAE Level 4 automation (that is, they can handle all driving tasks under some conditions). It hopes the exchange of standards will lead to a common language that human drivers and pedestrians will understand, regardless of where they live or how tech-savvy they may be.... " 

More on Ford Exoskeletons

Not only that we will use Robots, but that we will become robots.

Exoskeletons Debut at Ford Factories 
in ZDNet  By Charlie Osborne

Ford plans to offer exoskeleton technology to its factory employees worldwide. The EksoVest exoskeleton is designed to elevate a worker's arms during overhead tasks, both allowing wearers to move their arms freely and also delivering 15 pounds of assistance and support for each arm; the higher a user reaches, the more support the exoskeleton offers. The automaker’s assembly line workers lift their arms during overhead tasks about one million times per year, creating substantial risk for fatigue and upper-body injuries. EksoVests will reduce the physical stress experienced by staff working on overhead tasks. Ford's Bruce Hettle says ergonomics research, assembly improvements, and lift-assist technologies have helped the company design safe and efficient assembly lines “while maintaining high vehicle quality for our customers.”... " 

Augmenting Humans with Exoskeletons

Course we have been augmenting people with tools for ages.  But the idea of more directly augmenting the body with exoskeletons is interesting too.  Ford is now doing this more generally, which will be interesting to watch, will all physical workers soon have exoskeletons?  To add strength, to limit injury?  Is this a step towards general robotics? 

Ford thinks exoskeletons are ready for prime time in its factories
Automaker hopes to reduce injuries with mechanical help.

Roberto Baldwin, @strngwys in Engadget via O'Reilly Newsletter
08.07.18 in Transportation  ... "

Ford and Smart Digital Mobility

Last week heard Ford give an excellent talk on their advances.    Especially about data gathered in cars. Autonomous cars will ultimately gather up to 4 Terabytes per hour. How will this be used, protected?

How Ford Is Thinking About the Future    By Mark W. Johnson in HBR

Everyone’s talking about a future in which vehicles are shared rather than owned, autonomous rather than driven, and where car companies make large shares of their profits on digital “mobility services.” But if you are the Ford Motor Company and face the prospect of investing billions in new technology while your century-old business model is overturned, you might first have a few questions. How are consumers going to react to all of this? What do they really want? How can you tell which opportunities are real and which are science fiction?

To help test drive the future, in 2016 Ford paid about $50 million to acquire Chariot, a startup mobility service. Incubated at Y Combinator, the venture was aimed squarely at the most important, most reliable, most consistent mobility need that consumers have every day: getting to and from work. While this seemed like a small bet for a $165 billion company built on the mass production of vehicles, the deal was scouted, in part, by Jim Hackett, then head of Ford Smart Mobility who has since been elevated to CEO. ....  " 

Smart Windows from Ford

Advanced accessibility play of interest.  In Engadget.

Ford’s smart windows can help blind passengers take in the view
It converts the view into vibrations that they can feel on the window. .... " 

by Mallory Locklear, @mallorylocklear