Ford plans to build a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals by 2021, the company announced today. The vehicle will be aimed at ride-hailing and ride-sharing fleets. To get there, Ford is working with a number of startups, including a new investment in Velodyne, a firm that makes LIDAR sensors; the acquisition of SAIPS, an Israeli company that makes computer vision and machine learning software; an exclusive licensing agreement with "virtual retina" technology company Nirenberg Neuroscience, LLC; and apreviously announced investment in 3D-mapping company Civil Maps. The company is also expanding its research and innovation center in Palo Alto and plans to double the size of its team there by the end of next year. Read more http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/16/12504300/ford-autonomous-car-ride-sharing-2021
