The American multinational automaker - Ford, made it known to the public that they plan to build a fully autonomous car without a steering wheel or pedals by 2021. The company intended the vehicle to be an on-demand taxi service.

On making the autonomous car possible, the automaker company is working with a number of startups, which includes a new investment in Velodyne, the acquisition of SAIPS, an exclusive licensing agreement with virtual retina technology company Nirenberg Neuroscience, LLC.

Also helping the autonomous car project is the Israeli company that makes computer vision and machine learning software, as well as the previously publicized investment in 3D-mapping company Civil Maps.

Ford is also making its research and innovation center in Palo Alto more extensive, in which the company plans to increase the size of its team there by the end of 2017, based on the report of The Verge.

Ford executives made it known that at the moment, the company is not at the stage where it could show a vehicle, or even discuss about the design of the vehicle. Instead, the company got their center of activity on getting the hardware and software ready for a driverless car.

However, Ford's chief technology officer - Raj Nair, pointed out that these autonomous cars will not be for personal ownership, as it will be too expensive to sell directly to consumers, Fortune reported.

Ford CEO Mark Fields stated that the upcoming autonomous vehicles will be manufactured in high-volume production and will be tailored for these operations, which mean the cars will not have steering wheels, brake pedals, or other controls for human occupants, according to Car And Driver.

CEO Fields also stated that the autonomous cars are going to open up opportunities for the elderly, as well as individuals with disabilities and minors to drive themselves.

Meanwhile, Watch The 2017 Ford GT Video Here:

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Topics Ford, Self-driving cars, Autonomous Vehicles