Ford Using Artificial Intelligence to Solve Urban Driving Problems

Ford's transition from automaker to mobility company took another step forward in a small office space in downtown Ann Arbor this week. Instead of a new car or fancy self-driving tech update, Ford's big news was, basically, an AI-powered database. Standing next to a big 3D model of the city, Ford's vice president of mobility, marketing and growth, Brett Wheatley, announced the Ford City Insights platform. It uses AI and data from various sources--among them traffic cameras, parking garages, and police reports--to analyze everything from where collisions are most likely to happen to which roads would be best served by microtransit shuttles or scooters. The City Insights platform is made up of four main sectors: safety, parking, transit, and a 3D model that makes sense of the other three.