Ford has developed an Artificial Intelligence-driven database that will accelerate its transition from automaker to a mobility company.

It is accordingly partnering with American cities to solve mobility challenges. City Insights is Ford Mobility’s artificial intelligence-based collection of decision-enabling tools, custom algorithms, and data services.

It drives data-driven analytics, facilitating greater access, and leverages Ford’s century of experience in the auto business. For instance, the platform converts data on traffic, parking, and police data into usable algorithms that can optimize daily driving.

Where are collisions most likely to happen?

Which roads would be ideal for micro-transit shuttles or scooters?

Ford, AI and the eternal problem of parking

“By leveraging parking, transit, traffic, safety, and census data, our City Insights Platform allows city planners to visualize their entire mobility ecosystem and helps them explore various solutions before implementing them in the real world,” said Brett Wheatley, Vice President, Mobility Marketing and Growth, Ford Motor Company, in a Medium post.

For example, Ann Arbor is an interesting case study based on Ford’s use of artificial intelligence.

The question confronting city officials was whether there was enough parking available in the city. The City Insights Platform crunched data on city- and university-owned parking structures, street-side parking spaces, traffic flow during an average 24-hour period, and actual parking utilization.

It turns out, the city had enough parking. The solution instead was to efficiently inform drivers of available parking spots in their vicinity, and make access to parking easier.

The City Insights platform conducted its pilot run successfully in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

It announced yesterday that the platform was expanding to Austin, Texas; Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.