Ford's new Edge SUV can improve traction, fuel usage using artificial intelligence

One of the new impressive features that will come along with Ford's 2019 Edge and Edge ST is the use of artificial intelligence aimed at improving traction and fuel usage in the SUV. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker says the Edge SUV will come with its new "all-wheel-drive disconnect" which will switch automatically between two-wheel and all-wheel-drive "in a fraction of a second." Ford says the SUV set to hit dealers later in September, will use a "form of artificial intelligence to sift through information like wheel slip, road conditions, vehicle speed, windshield wiper usage and outside temperature." As for how the Edge will be able to improve fuel usage, the automaker says it will use features such as active transmission warm-up, deceleration fuel shutoff and exhaust gas recirculation. Scott Beiring, Ford driveline applications supervisor, said in a news release that the shifting between two-wheel and all-wheel-drive "needs to be fast and seamless enough that the customer doesn't know it is happening. The 2019 Edge and Edge ST SUV will use what the automaker calls "fuzzy logic," and that it can detect the need to engage or disengage within 10 milliseconds. "Fuzzy logic refers to the algorithm," Beiring said in the release. "It's like you or I determining what to wear based on reading a weather forecast, where we're going, the time of year and looking outside.