Ford's Marakby says computing power key to self-driving success

"It's pretty significant," Marakby said Monday at a conference hosted by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. "It's going to be one of the fundamental enablers to getting autonomous vehicles to operate in just about every environment. To go from Level 4 to Level 5 -- the ability to drive anywhere in any condition -- requires sensing technology, but it also requires computing technology."

Ford plans to introduce a Level 4 self-driving vehicle in 2021. It's expected to operate within previously mapped geofenced areas for commercial purposes such as ride-hailing or package delivery.

But once Level 5 vehicles, which can operate outside geofenced areas, hit the road, Marakby said the vehicles will need to be able to compute large amounts of data related to their surroundings. That can happen both on board the vehicle and in the cloud.

Marakby's comments Monday echoed CEO Jim Hackett, who said last week that Ford was in the "business of computing." Hackett has described Ford's work as developing "smart vehicles for a smart world."

Practically speaking, the automaker is in the process of adding modem connectivity to all of its models by 2019. It's also working to allow vehicles to communicate with one another and roadside infrastructure.

Marakby on Monday also offered hints at where Ford might deploy its self-driving vehicles. He said they're likely to appear first in U.S. cities with relatively good weather.