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Ford Motor Company is collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology researchers on a new, innovative mobility research
project to improve demand prediction models for mobility-on-demand
services
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Project uses LiDAR sensors and inexpensive cameras to route electric
shuttles toward areas with the highest demand based on data-driven
models. The collaboration also will help Ford and MIT demonstrate the
algorithms and methods to navigate densely crowded pedestrian areas
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Research plays a key role in supporting Ford’s broader effort to
change the way the world moves. Ford Smart Mobility is the company’s
plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles,
the customer experience, and data and analytics
Company Website:
http://corporate.ford.com/
DEARBORN, Mich. -- (Business Wire)
Ford Motor Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are
collaborating on a new research project that measures how pedestrians
move in urban areas to improve certain public transportation services,
such as ride-hailing and point-to-point shuttles services.
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Ford Motor Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are collaborating on a new research project that measures how pedestrians move in urban areas to improve certain public transportation services, such as ride-hailing and point-to-point shuttles services. Above, Wally Wibowo and Justin Miller in front of MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department's Neumann Hangar. (Photo: Business Wire)
The project will introduce a fleet of on-demand electric vehicle
shuttles that operate on both city roads and campus walkways on the
university’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus. The vehicles use LiDAR
sensors and cameras to measure pedestrian flow, which ultimately helps
predict demand for the shuttles. This, in turn, helps researchers and
drivers route shuttles toward areas with the highest demand to better
accommodate riders.
“The onboard sensors and cameras gather pedestrian data to estimate the
flow of foot traffic,” said Ken Washington, vice president of Research
and Advanced Engineering at Ford. “This helps us develop efficient
algorithms that bring together relevant data. It improves
mobility-on-demand services, and aids ongoing pedestrian detection and
mapping efforts for autonomous vehicle research.”
Using a high-tech lab
The MIT research is being conducted by the Aeronautics and Astronautics
Department’s Aerospace Controls Lab. ACL researches topics related to
autonomous systems and control design for aircraft, spacecraft, and
ground vehicles. Theoretical and experimental research is pursued in
such areas as estimation and navigation, planning and learning under
uncertainty, and vehicle autonomy.
"Through the mobility-on-demand system being developed for MIT's campus,
ACL can investigate new planning and prediction algorithms in a complex,
but controlled, environment, while simultaneously providing a testbed
framework for researchers and a service to the MIT community," said ACL
director Professor Jonathan How.
Hailing a ride
Ford and MIT researchers plan to introduce the service to a group of
students and faculty beginning in September. This group will use a
mobile application to hail one of three electric urban vehicles to their
location and request to be dropped off at another destination on campus.
The electric vehicles are small enough to be able to navigate the
campus’s sidewalks, while still leaving plenty of room for traditional
pedestrian traffic. Each is outfitted with weatherproof enclosures that
shield out inclement weather – a feature particularly useful for New
England’s punishing winters.
After requesting the shuttles via a smartphone app, MIT students and
faculty won’t be waiting long for their ride to arrive.
During the past five months, Ford and MIT have used LiDAR sensors and
cameras mounted to the vehicles to document pedestrian flow between
different points on campus. LiDAR is the most efficient way to detect
and localize objects from the environment surrounding the shuttles. The
technology is much more accurate than GPS, emitting short pulses of
laser light to precisely pinpoint the vehicles’ location on a map and
detect the movement of nearby pedestrians and objects.
Using this data, researchers study the overall pattern of how pedestrian
traffic moves across campus, which helps the researchers anticipate
where the most demand for the shuttles will be at any given moment. This
allows the shuttles to be carefully pre-positioned and routed to serve
the MIT population as efficiently as possible.
Researchers also take into account other factors that affect pedestrian
movement on MIT’s campus, such as varying weather conditions, class
schedules, and the dynamic habits of students and professors across
different semesters.
Applying learnings to mobility services and beyond
This collaboration further enhances Ford’s Dynamic Shuttle project,
which provides point-to-point shuttle rides to employees requesting
rides using a mobile application on its Dearborn, Michigan, campus. The
collaboration advances the ride-hailing concept to new heights by
examining the movement of pedestrians to predict demand and reduce wait
times for shuttles.
What's more, the algorithms and methods learned when navigating densely
crowded pedestrian areas using LiDAR will also strengthen Ford’s
autonomous and driver assist technologies as the company continues
develop autonomous vehicles.
The project is one of more than 30 mobility solutions university
research projects between Ford and universities in the U.S., Germany and
China aimed at helping the company and academic world better understand
how to improve mobility for millions of people globally.
University research partnerships are an important part of Ford’s broader
effort to change the way the world moves. Ford Smart Mobility is the
company’s plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous
vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford
Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company
based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 201,000 employees and 67 plants
worldwide, the company’s core business includes designing,
manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing a full line of Ford
cars, trucks, SUVs and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury
vehicles. At the same time, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging
opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a
leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer
experience, and data and analytics. The company provides financial
services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information
regarding Ford and its products worldwide or Ford Motor Credit Company,
visit www.corporate.ford.com.
For news releases, related materials and high-resolution photos and
video, visit www.media.ford.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160726006646/en/
Contacts:
Ford Motor Company
Angie Kozleski
313.323.1984
akozlesk@ford.com
Source: Ford Motor Company
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