Waching daily Feb 6 2019

We've invited a journalist, for an unusual experiment.

What kind of car is it?

He had no idea what he was getting into ...

which was, to be frank ...

And what do we have here?

... a car seat.

What the hell is this?!

[ Shrieks ]

For a really short moment I really thought that was some sort of robot.

[ Laughter ]

So come on, get in. I will get you dressed.

And now the visor, right?

There you go!

Let's go!

Okay.

[ Laughter ]

What may appear like the perfect setup for a prank

actually, is part of research Ford is conducting.

Into how autonomous vehicles,

can communicate with pedestrians and cyclists.

Experimenting with different colours and different signals

a light-bar helps pedestrians to understand

whether a car intends to stop and give-way,

or to pull forward.

The goal is to develop a universal communication

everyone can easily understand.

You could see how people were looking and thinking

and the decided to walk at the right moment.

Yes the light seems to be the right communication.

The vehicle has to somehow communicate with people.

People were amazed to see the vehicle

because something like that they haven't seen before.

It doesn't seem to belong on the road,

and they assume autonomous vehicles are not on the roads yet.

As a pedestrian or cyclist you have to know what a car is up to,

when I'm cycling across junctions which cars are using

then I need know what each car is going to do next.

Such a communication,

can help ensure people trust the safety

and reliability of autonomous vehicles in a future

that is just around the next corner.