On the Dash:
- Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering team is targeting faster development cycles as vehicle technology and consumer expectations continue to evolve.
- AI, simplified vehicle architectures and rapid testing are helping Ford accelerate software, battery and vehicle development.
- Ford is applying lessons from its skunkworks program and the Fathom EV across its broader product lineup.
Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering (R&A) team is targeting faster development cycles as vehicle technology and consumer expectations continue to evolve, using artificial intelligence, simplified vehicle architectures and rapid testing to accelerate software, battery and vehicle development. The team is also applying lessons from Ford’s skunkworks program and the Fathom EV across the automaker’s broader lineup.
Ford’s R&A team celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, tracing back to the 1951 founding of Ford’s original research labs in Dearborn. Matt Jones, Ford’s Executive Director of Technology Platforms, who oversees the automaker’s R&A team, emphasizes that speed is increasingly critical as Ford faces more agile competitors and shifting consumer expectations. The team is dedicated to identifying problems, developing solutions and accelerating their introduction into production.
Jones notes that consumers now expect automotive technology to advance at the same pace as consumer electronics, and Ford aims to move from idea to customer testing much faster than traditional development cycles allow. During the 2020 pandemic, Ford demonstrated that pace with a respirator project that moved from a simple sketch to a working prototype in a week.
Notably, while Chinese automakers can introduce new vehicle generations in approximately 18 months to two years, legacy automakers typically take three to five years, a gap confirmed by recent industry reporting. Over-the-air updates give automakers another lever, letting them release new features even after vehicles reach customers.
Ford implements AI
Ford is also simplifying its vehicle architecture, including the zonal electrical architecture built into the Fathom EV. While AI plays a crucial role in helping Ford test and develop ideas more quickly, Jones points out that it lets employees explore more ideas and learn from failures faster. The R&A team uses AI alongside physical labs, driving simulators and other testing tools, treating early failures in technology development as opportunities to reduce risk before production.
Ford’s California-based skunkworks team has developed the Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, and the automaker expects the Fathom to be the first production vehicle using this technology. R&A engineers have contributed their expertise to the program and helped integrate UEV technologies into other Ford vehicles. Jones says advancements from the UEV program, such as cloud capabilities and lightweight structural materials, will benefit the entire Ford lineup.
Looking ahead, Ford wants the R&A team to disrupt the industry rather than be disrupted by it. This team brings together engineers, physicists, chemists, materials scientists, biomedical specialists and professionals from various disciplines. By leveraging its 75-year history of innovation, Ford aims to position itself as an industry disruptor rather than risk being disrupted by competitors.
