Google will partner with motoring giant Ford for the next step of their self-driving car project according to an article from Yahoo.
Quoting the usual ‘sources familiar with the matter’, Yahoo says that the new venture will be announced next month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, with Google’s self-driving car technology to be used in Ford built vehicles.
According to Yahoo, the new venture would be non-exclusive for Google, though Google has declined to comment on the rumour. Non-exclusivity would allow Google to continue to work with other manufacturers to bring their self-driving technology to more people.
Ford, through their spokesman Alan Hall, has said that they work with many companies on their autonomous vehicles project, which they call Ford Smart Mobility – further saying ‘We keep these discussions private for obvious competitive reasons, and we do not comment on speculation’.
Google is one of the big names when it comes to self-driving car technology, though manufacturers like Ford also have their own efforts and companies such as Volvo and Mercedes Benz are also working on options. Electric car company Tesla already has their self-driving option, called AutoPilot already rolled out to their high end Model S, though it is mainly for freeway driving, whereas other solutions are aimed at all road types.
Ford has an event scheduled at CES for Tuesday (5th Jan), and we’ll be seeing if we can get Jason in to check out any possible announcements.
