Two recent reports highlight the way that industry and government are seeing the automated vehicle market shaping up.
 
The Governors Highway Safety Association, made up of state and territory highway safety officials, released “Preparing for Automated Vehicles: Traffic Safety Issues for States,” funded by insurance giant State Farm and drawing on research, survey findings, government documents and other sources.
 
Among other findings, it concludes that states should encourage automated vehicle testing “while retaining enough control and oversight to protect the public.” States should establish conditions for AV testing, determine if laws need to be changed to allow it, coordinate testing with law enforcement, inform the public and media about testing and “maintain effective high-level oversight of all testing.”
 
As of June, the report notes that 37 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation or issued executive orders relating to automated vehicles. Thirteen states authorize a study, define key terms or authorize funding; eight states authorize testing; 11 states and D.C. authorize full deployment; five states regulate truck platooning, where one truck can control others; and a dozen states allow testing or deployment without a human operator in the vehicle.
 
Ford’s approach
 
Automaker Ford also recently issued a report on its approach to developing self-driving vehicles, entitled, “A Matter of Trust.”
 
In it, Ford says it doesn’t necessarily want to be first to market, but will focus on safety.
 
“We don’t believe that the central challenge in the development of self-driving vehicles is the technology. It’s trust. Trust in the safety, reliability and experience that the technology will enable,” the report says.
 
The Department of Transportation has called for voluntary reporting from automakers on their work developing and testing AVs, and Ford says this is its first attempt at that.
 
Ford plans to have a fleet of self-driving vehicles in several cities over the next few years, with the goal of manufacturing a purpose-built self-driving vehicle in 2021 that can provide ride-hailing and delivery services. They won’t be sold to consumers, at least at first.
 
“You’ll be able to experience these vehicles through multiple means, including commercial fleets in mobility services such as ride-hailing and goods delivery. We believe we can offer the best value to our customers by providing the technology through a fleet service, similar to the way Ford currently offers specially engineered vehicles for taxi and police fleets,” the report says.
 
Ford’s car won’t have a steering wheel, gas or brake pedals, and its “brains” and senses, what Ford calls the Virtual Driver System, will come from Ford’s partner, Argo AI, an artificial intelligence and robotics company founded by former Google and Uber leaders. Ford announced last year that it is investing $1 billion in Argo AI over the next five years.
 
Ford’s AVs will also feature redundant brake and steering systems should the primary systems fail and will have upgraded brakes, wheels and body structures that can withstand more work cycles, similar to the fleet vehicles Ford builds for police and service fleets.
 
The automaker is also working on the “language” that a driverless car can use to communicate with pedestrians. Ford developed a light bar that fits near the windshield, which could signal the vehicle’s intent; a white light passing back and forth indicates the car is yielding to pedestrians, and a rapidly blinking light means it’s planning to proceed.
 
Ford tested its system in a car that looked like it was driverless but really wasn’t — the driver was wearing a “seat suit” that camouflaged him.
 
“Our light signals still need to undergo a significant amount of research, but we believe development and adoption of a global standard is critical to support eventual deployment of self-driving vehicles,” the report says.