Ford has just installed a facility in Silicon Valley for advanced research into automotive technologies. The Palo Alto Research and Innovation Center in California, USA, will accelerate the development of technologies and tests in the areas of connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, customer experience and “big data”, that is, the management of high volume of data.
The facility will join Ford's global network, which includes centers in Dearborn, US, and Aachen, Germany. The North American unit is focused on advanced electronics, human-machine interface, materials science, big data and analytics, while the European center is primarily focused on research into next-generation propulsion systems, driver assistance technologies and safety systems. active.
“At Ford, we are as much a mobility company as we are an automobile company, driving innovation in all areas of our business,” said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. Silicon Valley's innovation ecosystem, anticipating consumer wants and needs, especially in connectivity, mobility and autonomous vehicle actions. We are researching to make these new technologies accessible to everyone, not just luxury customers."
With the new facility in California, Ford plans to have, by the end of this year, one of the largest research centers among automakers. In Silicon Valley, it has 125 researchers, engineers and scientists. The facility, located in Stanford Research Park, also expands Ford's physical space – and already has a plan for future expansion.
"Future mobility solutions will require fresh ideas and vigorous collaboration between Ford researchers and other technology leaders outside the automotive industry," said Raj Nair, vice president of Global Product Development at Ford.
Ford's new research center is led by Dragos Maciuca, an engineer who came from Apple with a background in consumer electronics, semiconductor, aerospace and automotive industries.
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