Ford CTO Ken Washington today announced that the automaker will create a robotics and AI research team to explore AI beyond autonomous cars. "This is the next step in Ford's automation story," Washington said. "Ford is poised to drive into the future by expanding automation of mobility products and services." The team to focus on AI and robotic research and development is being created, Washington said, because Argo.ai now leads development of Ford's first generation of self-driving vehicles. Last summer, Ford announced plans to double its Silicon Valley footprint and said it plans to mass produce self-driving cars without steering wheels by 2021.