Fast Forward With Don Butler, Ford's Connected Vehicles Chief
Ford has spent the last few years transforming itself from a motorcar company into a technology and transportation visitor. Ford still wants to sell cars, but increasingly the company focuses on how those vehicles collaborate with urban center infrastructure, other vehicles, and the passengers themselves.
Ane of the executives leading that imitative is Don Butler, Director of Connected Vehicles and Services at Ford. I spoke with Butler on the bear witness flooring at CES 2022 about the hereafter of transportation, the environment, and Ford's unique strategy. A transcript and video of our give-and-take
Dan Costa: Welcome to Fast Forward. I'm Dan Costa, editor-in-chief of PCMag.com, and we are on the CES prove floor. This is a show where we have conversations about living in the future. I am here with Don Butler, manager of connected vehicles and services with Ford. Nosotros are at the Ford booth, and we're going to talk about self-driving cars. We're going to talk nigh the future of cities and the futurity of transportation, and all those things coaction with 1 some other. Don, thanks and so much for taking the fourth dimension here. Your title is director of connected vehicles and services. Most people don't think most Ford every bit a services company, merely it's really fundamental to Ford'due south approach to transportation, right?
You're absolutely right, Dan. Our vision is that we want to make people's lives better past changing the style the world moves. In the by, that definition of making people's lives meliorate was essentially affordable transportation. Going all the manner dorsum to the days of our founder, Henry Ford, and the Model T, the assembly line. It opened upwardly the highways for all mankind. As we fast forward 113 years, manifestly some of the dynamics have inverse. Cities are becoming more congested. We're more concerned, obviously, most the surroundings and making sure that we can be uniform with what's happening regarding global warming. We're thinking almost our business concern and our company non just as an automotive business organisation, simply as a mobility business organisation besides.
That sense of mobility also has a sense of software and services related to being mobile. My title, Connected
You were one of the commencement companies to look at transportation not just every bit a service, but as a platform. That you were going to build the cars, but you need to build an ecosystem around that that brought in lots of different partners. Sync was the first of that, and so equally it's evolved, you've only been lining up more and more partners to aggrandize what the platform tin exercise. Talk virtually some of those new partners.
You're right. That notion of
One of the partners that nosotros're happy to work with and nosotros're featuring at CES this year is Amazon. We are bringing the capability of Alexa into the vehicle, leveraging Sync AppLink equally that platform and enabling people to, over again, accomplish things more than than just going from A to B. Accomplishing those other kinds of experiences that they'd similar to have while they're moving.
What kind of experiences? What does bringing Alexa inside the car do for the consumer?
Imagine all the things that you could do at dwelling house with Alexa similar checking the weather, checking your schedule, checking your calendar, calculation to your shopping list. Nosotros spend, virtually of usa, an inordinate corporeality of fourth dimension either commuting or inside our vehicles, and why should y'all exist restricted from engaging with that network, engaging with Alexa while you're inside the vehicle? You tin can check your contacts. You tin check your agenda. You lot tin can add to your shopping listing.
One of the interesting things we've done to integrate the vehicle-related aspects of that, you could say, for instance, "Alexa, what are some of the restaurants that are nearby?" Come back with a list. After you get through a couple of queries, you lot smash downward the restaurant that y'all'd like to go to. All this was done through voice, by the way. That destination would immediately then be populated within our embedded navigation system onboard the vehicle which would then evidently accept you there very seamlessly.
You don't accept to build a voice interface. People are already familiar with Alexa. They've got the service. They've got the tools, but you've taken and expanded on it.
Exactly.
You've as well been very aggressive in partnering with other hardware vendors. You've got a relationship with Toyota to help build out this platform as well. That'south something a lot of auto companies wouldn't do.
If we think about the technology space and we think most what makes sense, open up platforms, open source platforms, things that brand the common underlying technology just more than attainable and more than available, it's not a indicate of differentiation. The differentiation is in the experience that yous deliver. It'southward in the await and
I'd like to distinguish what we're doing with Smart Device Link from CarPlay and Android Machine, for instance. Because that'due south a question that would immediately come up to listen. Those are linking technologies. Why don't you just let Apple and Google do information technology? From a Ford perspective, we desire to provide choice to our customers, so we do offer CarPlay. We do offering Android Auto. If yous think about those environments, a really good example, and this is not to be critical, it's merely to describe how it is, you tin can't use Google Maps within CarPlay for obvious reasons, and vice versa. At that place's no Apple Maps within Android Auto.
We want to be accessible and open up to everyone. We're open to all mapping providers with Smart Device Link. Nosotros're open up to all application providers, provided, again, that they bide past what nosotros have regarding things like commuter distraction guidelines and those sorts of things. Smart Device Link provides a more open up, accessible platform. It provides the developer more freedom, more control. Working within a Ford look and experience or a Toyota look and feel so the manufacturer can go the distinction that they desire, the developer tin go the access that they want. Best of all, customers tin can go the experience that they want.
Our vision is that nosotros want to make people'southward lives amend by changing the way the earth moves. In the past, that definition of making people's lives better was essentially affordable transportation. Going all the way dorsum to the days of our founder, Henry Ford, and the Model T, the assembly line. It opened upwards the highways for all flesh. Every bit we fast forward 113 years, apparently some of the dynamics have inverse. Cities are condign more congested. We're more concerned, patently, about
That sense of mobility also has a sense of software and services related to beingness mobile. My title, continued
Yous were one of the get-go companies to await at transportation not just as a service, but as a platform. That you were going to build the cars, but yous demand to build an ecosystem effectually that that brought in lots of different partners. Sync was the first of that, and so as information technology'southward evolved, you've just been lining up more and more partners to expand what the platform tin practise. Talk most some of those new partners.
You're correct. That notion of
One of the partners that we're happy to work with and nosotros're featuring at CES this year is Amazon. We bringing the capability of Alexa into the vehicle, leveraging Sync AppLink as that platform and enabling people to, again, reach things more than just going from A to B. Accomplishing those other kinds of experiences that they'd like to have while they're moving.
What kind of experiences? What does bringing Alexa inside the car do for the consumer?
Imagine all the things that you could do at dwelling house with Alexa similar checking the atmospheric condition, checking your schedule, checking your calendar, adding to your shopping list. We spend, most of us, an inordinate amount of time either commuting or inside our vehicles, and why should you be restricted from engaging with that network, engaging with Alexa while y'all're within the vehicle? You tin check your contacts. You tin check your agenda. Y'all tin add to your shopping list.
One of the interesting things nosotros've washed to integrate the vehicle-related aspects of that, you could say, for case, "Alexa, what are some of the restaurants that are nearby?" Come dorsum with a listing. After y'all go through a couple of queries, y'all boom down the eating place that you'd like to get to. All this done through vocalisation, by the mode. That destination would immediately then be populated within our embedded navigation system onboard the vehicle which would and so obviously have you there very seamlessly.
You don't have to build a phonation interface. People are already familiar with Alexa. They've got the service. They've got the tools, but you've taken and
Exactly.
You lot've also been very aggressive in partnering with other hardware vendors. Yous've got a relationship with Toyota to help build out this platform as well. That's something a lot of car companies wouldn't do.
If nosotros remember about the technology space and we think about what makes sense, open platforms, open source platforms, things that brand the mutual underlying technology only more accessible and more bachelor, information technology's not really a point of differentiation. The differentiation is in the experience that you evangelize. It'south in the look and
I'd similar to distinguish what we're doing with Smart Device Link from CarPlay and Android Car, for instance. Because that's a question that would immediately come up to listen. Those are linking technologies. Why don't yous just let Apple and Google do it? From a Ford perspective, nosotros want to provide choice to our customers, so we practice offer CarPlay. We do offer Android Machine. If you think about those environments, a actually expert example, and this is not to exist critical, it's only to describe how it is, you can't employ Google Maps within CarPlay for obvious reasons, and vice versa. In that location's no Apple Maps within Android Auto.
We want to be attainable and open up to everyone. We're open up to all mapping providers with Smart Device Link. We're open to all awarding providers, provided, again, that they abide past what we have in terms of things like driver distraction guidelines and those sorts of things. Smart Device Link provides a more open up, accessible platform. Information technology provides the programmer more freedom, more control. Working within a Ford expect and feel or a Toyota look and feel so the manufacturer tin get the distinction that they want, the developer tin become the access that they want. Best of all, customers tin go the experience that they want.
Let's talk nearly self-driving cars. I've been coming to this evidence. We've been talking for a number of years. It'south e'er been something that'due south going to happen in the future. As an manufacture insider, are you surprised at how fast this has evolved and how quickly these cars have actually started to go on the road?
I think information technology'due south incredible the extent to which the technology has developed and the extent to which nosotros are demonstrating democratic capability in our vehicles today. If nosotros take a await at ... it's blocked by the crowds because information technology'south very pop correct now ... that vehicle backside us is our next generation autonomous vehicle. I of the interesting developments there is we've taken the LiDAR that nosotros sourced from Velodyne. In the past ...
That's how everybody knew they were on the street. They stood out, and you couldn't miss it if it rolled down the street.
You're exactly right. At present it'southward the size ... perchance a little chip more ... nearly the size of a hockey puck. It'southward got greater range. It'due south got
As well the engineering science from a thinking standpoint, so processing all that sensing information and then determining what do I desire to tell the vehicle to do. That'due south avant-garde by leaps and bounds also with GPU processors and only the ability that we take to do that sophisticated thinking on a much smaller calibration and and then finally the responding engineering.
Once nosotros decide where the vehicle needs to get, the sensors and the actuators that steer and brake and use the throttle, when you think about things similar steer by wire, brake by wire, and throttle by wire, those have advanced also. Everything'south coming together so that we've got really, truly demonstrable platforms that we can experiment with. Now we're withal some time abroad from making this truly something that tin operate in the fourth case in a level 4 mode inside a known geospatial area where nosotros've got high-definition mapping, simply nosotros're certainly well on the path to achieving that.
Getting dorsum to your original question, I'm somewhat blown away actually past how far the technology has avant-garde.
You mentioned level four. That'due south been fundamental to your mission. Let'due south just explain the divergence between level three and level four and why Ford is placing a big bet on level iv and maxim, "We got to go to level four almost and not take these intermediate steps."
Not to go as well detailed, but the deviation between level three and level four, level three is some autonomous adequacy in some weather, only information technology will require the driver to essentially remain attentive and exist able to take control at whatsoever point.
Seems similar a good thought on the surface.
It seems similar a good idea on the surface. Level 4 for us and the way information technology's described inside a known geographic bounded area where we've got high-definition mapping, the vehicle is capable of fully democratic operation without the demand for any human engagement at all. One of the challenges that we see with level 3 is depending on the situation, how do y'all in a very potentially urgent mode go the person, the occupant to accept command once again? What's the indication that yous use?
Considering we think just human what'due south going to happen if you're accustomed to the vehicle driving itself, then your attentiveness is probably non going to be on the route or on the particular state of affairs. We merely don't know how that handoff tin be done effectively and in a safe manner. All of our efforts are geared towards number one, making certain that nosotros've got loftier-definition mapping in the areas where we will be operating apart.
So number two, making sure that we can operate autonomously 100% of the fourth dimension. That means from a sensing standpoint, from a thinking standpoint, as well equally from a responding standpoint. Having things like redundant steering, redundant throttle, redundant breaking and so that if something happens, there's always a backup. We just think it's meliorate if there's not the demand for the commuter to re-engage because we can recall of so many scenarios where it would really be a problem.
We've distracted driving problems now when you're supposed to be giving 100% of your attention to the route and your driving. If yous take information technology down to 60%, all all of a sudden, you're going to be reading books. We've already had a few of the accidents that have happened so far accept been in that gray area between the user and the car and not knowing who's supposed to take over.
Yous talk almost mapping, most people think about mapping as a one time-a-twelvemonth mapping, Google Maps type of process, but you've got cars, they've got LiDAR running. They're creating constant maps, similar perpetual maps of the real-time terrain.
You're right.
That'south something that it's a whole new way of looking at mapping and transportation.
It'south a whole new style of looking at mapping, and these are ... Actually, we call them night maps when yous wait at the LiDAR patterns that are adult as a result of it, but they're high-density maps, non only of the roadways but of everything around the road and everything in the immediate proximity, updated on a constant ground, and looking at differential patterns to understand what's inverse and what's different.
In fact, nosotros've been able to demonstrate the fact that we can operate apart on snowfall-covered roads for instance, where photographic camera vision systems would be highly problematic.
Everything gets whited out.
Everything gets whited out, but because we've got a high-definition map of the area and considering we've got LiDAR and precise positioning, we know where we are without essentially having the cameras seeing where nosotros are. That'south ane of the reasons from a Ford perspective we think the three levels of sensing engineering science are critical. Radar, vision, and LiDAR we
Permit's talk about a little bit how cities are going to change with these new technologies. People talk virtually just the landscapes, the physical landscapes of cities being transformed by the introduction of these vehicles. But talk a lilliputian chip about how you see that happening.
That's i of the areas that nosotros demand to explore hand in paw with cities, and we've created a group within Ford that's all around cities every bit partners. Considering one of the things that we want to exercise is not exist presumptuous and say, "Hey, nosotros're coming in with the autonomous vehicle, and here's what we retrieve you lot need, and yous just need to adapt."
So trying to sympathize how might we help you lot overcome some of those barriers? If it's a urban center like London for instance and the congestion that happens in the urban center'south eye and much of that congestion due to potentially commercial vehicle deliveries, for instance. Might we look at some hub and spoke kind of approach where the commercial vehicle comes to a certain identify, but then you take an autonomous vehicle to road more precisely into the city'southward center, for case?
What nosotros're trying to do is explore those areas with cities in partnership to understand how might nosotros, as nosotros're developing our autonomous capability, help you with some of the problems that y'all're facing.
Talk about democratic cars, most people call back about a machine they're going to own, they're going to park in their driveway, they're going to get in it and it's going to accept them to work and so take them habitation once more. It could be that the beginning wave or democratic vehicles are shared vehicles or commercial vehicles or working on established routes, replacing bus per se.
Well, in the case of Ford, you lot're exactly right. Our first autonomous vehicles will be in a sense company endemic, and they will exist used for ride-sharing services and commercial purposes. Robotics taxis, if you will. One of the challenges is while the transportation at some point will exist affordable, these commencement models will be allow's just say expensive for an individual to own. If they're operated as part of a ride-sharing service for instance, and if they've got high utility, and then nosotros tin bring that service to consumers, to businesses and make it much, much more than affordable than even personal ownership on a price-per-mile ground.
At least initially, our focus is on leveraging that for ride-sharing services, for commercial services. We think that makes the most sense regarding the transition that nosotros see underway.
2 more questions. What is the biggest roadblock for the creation and widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles? Is information technology the intelligence? Is information technology the hardware? Is it the regulatory environs? What do you lot think is going to derail this? What'due south the biggest obstacle?
I think if I divided it into 3 areas, technology, club, regulatory, I call up from a standpoint of the technology, we tin can see our way to delivering a vehicle within the next few years as we take already projected.
Similar three?
2021.
2021. Okay.
Give me a little chip more time for it.
Okay, 4 years
We can meet our way through that with the technology. From a regulatory standpoint and a societal standpoint, I think those are areas that nosotros need to work most closely with thought leaders, with governmental bodies to make sure that from a regulatory standpoint we tin proceed to exam in a way that'southward most productive. For case, if we're going to move forwards and in the instance of our level four vehicle, nosotros're saying there won't exist a driver behind the wheel. We're going to demand to test that scenario.
Right at present, substantially all the regulations crave that there be a driver in that location, and then how can nosotros work with the regulatory bodies to make sure that nosotros can examination in a way that makes sense? Existence rubber, absolutely making sure that nosotros're doing information technology in a very thoughtful way, but however, having the regulations and the guidelines I guess evolve so that we can motility in that management. So from a societal standpoint understanding in our instance, it's going to exist within known areas, so going back to this notion of cities as partners.
What cities make the nigh sense for initial deployment? What cities make the well-nigh sense regarding some of the problems that they're encountering and how we could potentially help overcome those problems. I think from the standpoint of how we can benefit guild; I retrieve that's maybe an underappreciated chemical element of what autonomous vehicles tin practise.
A lot of people talk most rubber, and that'due south critical, absolutely, the instance, just there'southward broader benefit as well regarding more efficiently moving appurtenances and people from place to identify. We call up nosotros admittedly play a office in that. In a sense, it all circles back to making people's lives ameliorate by changing the fashion the world moves.
I know you've been trapped in the booth for a lot of this show. What are you most excited nearly on the bear witness flooring, here, what technology do you think is going to transform society? It tin can be transportation related or not.
I think I would peradventure point to a couple of things that we've seen developing even last year and more then this year. Intelligent administration, personal assistants, digital administration like Alexa for instance. I think yous're going to see much more prevalence of that, much more voice-based interaction but because equally technology advances and information technology becomes more complex, the elementary fashion to interact is through vocalisation, non having to memorize a complicated bill of fare structure, not having to understand displays and controls and how they work.
It makes sense in the car, and information technology makes sense at home, which is why Alexa took off.
Right, admittedly right. And so when you couple with that what's happening with virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, I retrieve we tin foresee a day potentially in an democratic style where you're existence driven in a vehicle. You don't need to pay attention to the road. The vehicle's doing the driving for y'all, so all suddenly, yous can consume content and perhaps consume that content in a very, very dissimilar fashion.
Perchance you're participating in that meeting while yous're driving and yous're engaged and involved and from a mixed reality standpoint, people run into you lot, you come across them, you lot're able to collaborate and apply your voice. I think all these things are coming together to create a place that was perhaps unimaginable fifty-fifty three or four years ago.
Don, thanks and then much for taking the time. If people want to know more virtually you and Ford and the evolution of these technologies, where can they find more information virtually you?
But go to Ford.com, and you'll detect more about what we're doing and the kinds of things that we're making happen in the earth today.
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