Ford has opened a new center in Silicon Valley to research connected and autonomous car systems as well as big data.
Some 125 researchers, engineers and scientists will work to make Ford cars ever smarter with increased connectivity and mobility. The center will also focus on analytics, gathering data from customers to learn about how they use their vehicles.
The automaker, which first opened a Silicon Valley office in 2012, expects its new Research and Innovation Center in Palo Alto, Calif., to be "one of the largest automotive manufacturer research centers" in the area by the end of 2015.
"This new research center shows Ford's commitment to be part of the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem--anticipating customers' wants and needs, especially on connectivity, mobility and autonomous vehicles," Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO, said in a statement. "We are working to make these new technologies accessible to everyone, not just luxury customers."
The Palo Alto team will further Ford's partnership with Stanford University. The automaker has donated a Fusion model to Stanford's engineering program that will be used for autonomous vehicle testing. Ford researchers have also helped to develop a virtual testing ground for self-driving cars, essentially a video game that tests algorithms for autonomous vehicles.
Even though it's coming into Google and Apple territory, Ford isn't planning to compete with Silicon Valley's big names.
"I don't think it's a matter of rivalry. I think it's a matter of partnership," said Raj Nair, global product development chief for Ford, as quoted by the New York Times' Bits blog.
Google has struck partnerships with various automakers, and a company executive recently said the company would be "remiss" not to discuss self-driving vehicles with major car companies who have been in the auto business for much longer.
In a Reuters interview, Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project, listed Ford as an automaker that Google would like to bring into autonomous driving discussions.
But when asked if Ford's new research center will tap Google when it comes to partnerships, Nair said, "Google's not on the page."
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