Ford Focuses on Less Aggressive Self-Driving Targets With 'Latitude AI' Division

Ford this week announced a new subisidiary, dubbed Latitude AI, that will focus on autonomous driving technology. Ford describes Latitude AI as an extension of existing autonomous driving efforts, including its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system. The work will support "Ford’s strategic shift last year to focus on automated driving technologies for personally owned vehicles," it says. As a result, Ford switched its focus from the Level 4 ADAS being developed by Argo AI to Level 2 and Level 3 technologies. Latitude AI is headquartered in Pittsburgh, with engineering hubs in Dearborn, Mich. and Palo Alto, plus a highway-speed test track facility in Greenville, S.C.