Ford and Baidu jointly conduct autonomous driving tests, and L4 autonomous driving is expected to be accelerated

On October 31, Ford and Baidu announced that they would launch a two-year joint test project for Level 4 autonomous driving. Currently, both parties have completed the vehicle modification work required for autonomous driving testing.

Before conducting road tests, Ford Nanjing Engineering Research and Development Center established a special team of engineers to undertake vehicle modification work so that it could be equipped with Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving system.

The test project is expected to start on public roads at the end of the year, and will be mainly carried out on public roads in Beijing.

In early July 2017, Ford joined Baidu Apollo open platform and became a member of the Apollo Council.

In June this year, Ford and Baidu further deepened their cooperation and signed a letter of intent for strategic cooperation, aiming to seek cooperation opportunities in areas such as intelligent connected technology, artificial intelligence and digital marketing.

The two parties will cooperate based on artificial intelligence Internet of Vehicles technology based on Baidu DuerOS, including voice semantics, in-vehicle images, content ecology and other technologies, to provide users with innovative in-vehicle infotainment systems and digital services.

The launch of the joint testing project marks the further deepening of the partnership between Ford and Baidu.

In the era of intelligent networking, most foreign automakers are facing difficulties in localization in China. Map data issues and lack of understanding of China's traffic environment are limiting the business expansion of foreign automakers in China. Deepening cooperation with Baidu is expected to help Ford solve these problems.

To accelerate the development of its autonomous driving business, Ford has made a series of internal adjustments. In July this year, Ford announced the establishment of Ford Autonomous Driving Automobile Subsidiary, to which all its autonomous driving businesses will be transferred.

According to Ford's announced plan, Ford will invest $4 billion in the new company by 2023, including the $1 billion investment in Argo AI, to accelerate the mass production of autonomous driving.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.