BlackBerry Inks Deal With Ford To Develop Fully Autonomous Cars Of The Future [Video]

BlackBerry signed a deal with Ford to create software that could run the first generation of fully automated self-driving vehicles.

BlackBerry is dedicating a team of its engineers to assist Ford in incorporating a range of BlackBerry software including its QNX neutrino OS, its Certicom security tech, and audio processing software into future Ford cars, the Verge reported.

By inking the deal with Ford, we can expect an expanded use of BlackBerry's QNX Neutrino OS that is already being used in some of Ford's in-car infotainment systems. The move to provide software for Ford vehicles would mean new growth potentials for Blackberry after discontinuing their mobile handset business.

The former giant in the mobile industry in recent years have moved away from hardware after failing to keep up with much younger players in the field such as Samsung and Apple. BlackBerry set its focus instead on software for new areas of opportunity, particularly the automotive industry.

The software in an average high-end sedan already contains over 100 million lines of code. The claim is said to dwarf even the amount used in the space shuttle, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and even Microsoft Office combined, according to BlackBerry.

In a blog written by John Wall, Senior Vice President, and Head of QNX Software (published in Inside BlackBerry), he mentioned that Ford announced its ambitious goal of providing fleets of fully autonomous (self-driving) cars on the road in five years.

Ford's ambitious move is to provide vehicles that have complete autonomy, the vehicles will not even have pedals or steering wheels, said Ford CEO Mark Fields. The company seems to be going on the right track for in July; it was reported to have invested in a Berkeley, California startup, Civil Maps.

The company makes software that turns LiDAR data into maps that automated vehicles can read and be updated by automakers. Ford also invested heavily in LiDAR manufacturer Velodyne. Velodyne's LiDAR "Puck" costs just $7,999 while the type Google car uses reportedly costs about $85,000.

Ford also signed an exclusive licensing deal with Nirenberg Neuroscience for machine vision and deep learning tech, and Saips, an Israeli startup to provide tech to identify pedestrians and other traffic obstacles, Wired reported.