Ford Offers Preview of Driver-Assist Technology, Petextrians Collision Prevention

By Christian Pilares
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See new video showing rise in pedestrian injuries around the globe linked to increased number of "petextrians" - people texting while walking Ford

Ford is trying to make the lives of drivers easier. The carmaker has just unveiled their Driver-Assist Technology that can help drivers everywhere and reduce stress associated with the handling of vehicles.

Parking Assist

One of the most interesting parts of the technology is the Parking Assist feature. While other brands have come up with technologies that help drivers when parking, their techs are not autonomous. The driver would still have to do most of the work.

Ford's Driver-Assist Technology aims to change all that. With this technology, a driver can achieve parallel parking by just pressing a button. The steering wheel and the gearshift would be moving in an automatic manner with the use of this tech. It would also have control over the brake and the throttle of the vehicle.

Evasive Steering Assist

Another important feature that Ford is working is the Evasive Steering Assist. This technology uses cameras and radar to detect moving and vehicles and can be used to avoid getting into collisions. The technology would be self-activated and be useful when there is not enough braking space. It can help the driver to do evasive maneuvering to avoid getting into an accident.

Wrong-Way Alert

Ford is also working on a Wrong-Way Alert system. This tech uses the camera on the windshield and the navigation system of the car to tell if the river is going in the wrong direction. This feature can also be used to prevent accidents.

There are other features that Ford has included into the Driver-Assist Technology that they are working on and they are pushing so that these can be used in production cars in the soonest time possible. Most of the work on these new technologies are being done in the company's Research and Innovation Center, which is in Germany.

Some of Ford's models have the early versions of the features that they are developing. This includes the park assist technology, but Ford is working further to improve those technologies. If successful, the developments will further advance the coming of autonomous vehicles.

Other companies are currently developing driverless vehicles. That includes Google and Apple. There have been rumors about Apple's development of what has been described as the iCar, which would be its venture in car making. While it is claimed that Apple's car would be a totally autonomous vehicle, it seems that Ford is not moving in that direction.

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