Ford Opens Palo Alto Research Lab To Tap In To Tech Innovations
PALO ALTO (CBS 5) - Ford Motor Company is opening a new Silicon Valley research lab in Palo Alto in hopes that the South Bay startup vibe will help the 109 year old company reinvent itself.
"I think the best way to look at Ford in Silicon Valley is not like Ford is going to start a factory, but here as a startup," said Vankatesh Prasad of Ford's Silicon Valley Lab.
About a dozen people will work in the new downtown office. T.J. Giuli, a computer science grad from Stanford, was the first hire.
"Ford, for several years now, has tried to position itself as a technology company," said Giuli. "What better place to come than Silicon Valley?"
To launch the new lab, Ford showcased its latest cars Monday at the Computer Museum in Mountain View, including the all-electric Ford Focus.
One of the visions for the car of the future is that they will all be these sort of rolling WiFi hotspots that will all communicate with each other with their sensors, potentially even using wiper blade movement to alert other drivers to wet roads ahead.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
