Ford to open research lab in Silicon Valley to drive innovation in personal mobility

Ford Motor Company has decided to create and open a new
research lab in Silicon Valley early this year.


The new facility will be its first-ever dedicated R&D
office on the west coast.


New lab will support Ford’s vision that its future is not
just about building cars but about creating uncompromised personal mobility
experiences for people around the world


Lab will be a hub for Ford to develop a wide spectrum of
partnerships with established and startup tech firms and with universities in
the area, such as Stanford.


“Ford has an incredible heritage of driving
innovation in the transportation and manufacturing sectors during the past 107
years. Now it’s time to prepare for the next 100 years, ushering in a new era
of collaboration and finding new partners to help us transform what it means to
be an automaker,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford
chief technical officer and vice president of Research and Innovation.


Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally will discuss on the
new areas of focus for the forthcoming Silicon Valley lab, plus Ford’s latest
technologies including SYNC, EcoBoost, MyKey and inflatable rear safety belts,
when he returns to the International CES.  


Ford Research and Innovation, the company’s advanced
engineering arm, will open the new Silicon Valley lab in the first quarter,
helping ensure Ford keeps pace with consumer trends and aggressively prepares
for the future by developing mobility solutions to harness the power of seamless
connectivity, cloud computing and clean technology.


The new Ford lab will be located in the San Francisco Bay
area of California and will serve as a hub for independent technology projects
and identification of new research investments and partners located along the
west coast.


Ultimately, the lab will create an innovation network
connecting Ford’s Advanced Design Studio in Irvine, Calif., and Ford employees
working with connectivity platform partner Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash.


“Silicon Valley represents a deep and dynamic
technology neighborhood and is far from Dearborn. With so many opportunities
and so much potential, our new lab will allow us to scout new technologies and
partners in their own environment and continue our expansion beyond the
traditional automaker mindset to drive innovation for a better mobility
experience,” said K. Venkatesh Prasad, senior technical leader for open
innovation with Ford Research and Innovation.


By Telecomlead.com Team
[email protected]