Ford Helps Clemson Students Build Self-Driving Car
Photo: Ford
Ford is all in when it comes to autonomous driving, and it’s lending its expertise to tomorrow’s innovators. In a recent post on Medium, Ford Motor Company Customer Interaction and Experience Development Manager James Forbes outlined how the automaker helped Clemson University students create their own self-driving car.
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The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research offers Deep Orange, a two-year master’s program focused on automotive design. Two years ago, CU-ICAR announced Deep Orange 10, a program focused on designing a self-driving vehicle. Ford served as the program’s sponsor, but Forbes notes that the involvement didn’t stop with branding and bucks.
“Throughout the course, my Ford colleagues and I met with students on a regular basis to conduct design reviews and hold brainstorming sessions to generate new ideas. Students got an understanding of the entire vehicle design cycle, plus critical experience in how to think through problems when what you’re building with your hands doesn’t quite match up to what you envisioned in a virtual design environment,” Forbes writes.
Deep Orange 10 prototype reveal coming up
The team behind Deep Orange 10 will reveal its clean-sheet approach to a self-driving vehicle in the near future. Forbes offers a sneak peek at the vehicle in his Medium article, highlighting points of interest.
The DO10 team envisioned its vehicle as a personal-use vehicle with a comfortable feel. To achieve this, Forbes says the cabin feels like “a living room on wheels.” That includes a lounge-like setup with four seats facing inward, promoting conversation and relaxation. The final prototype also allows passengers to guide the vehicle using voice and gesture commands. Forbes suggests helps eliminate the need for touch elements that could carry germs.
Forbes says that Ford will help Clemson reveal its self-driving car soon. Ford recently offered an update on its self-driving commercial service, which is set to launch in 2022.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.