Ford is actually boasting that the 2010 Taurus safety radar somehow compares to the Lockheed Martin F-22's sensor. Behold:
The Ford motor company has harnessed technology from the F22 fighter jet as part of its bid to make its new Taurus "America's smartest full-sized sedan".
Radar devices are aimed at helping avoid crashes by sounding an alarm and flashing red lights when the driver gets too close to another car.
This hi-tech gadget is just one of a host being used by Ford to revive what was once the company's top seller. ...
"F22 fighter jets use this advanced radar that can read down the road and identify everything from trees to people," said Pete Reyes, Ford's chief engineer for the 2010 Taurus.
"We then added our own Ford algorithms to determine whether or not objects are a 'vehicle target'.
"Then it monitors the vehicle target and always knows your position relative to those vehicle targets," explained Mr Reyes.
Give me a break! If Ford appropriated a single line of software code from the F-22 radar -- the Northrop Grumman APG-77 (shown above) -- the government would instantly shut down the Taurus' Chicago assembly plant until it complies with ITAR. Not to mention the price: Unless the 2010 Taurus' MSRP is in the $1 million to $2 million range, even with the dealer discount, I submit the F-22's radar technology remains safely limited to stealthy-yet-speedy-and-agile fighters.
on September 13, 2009 10:05 PM | Reply
I don't think they are saying that anything was "appropriated" but rather that the two technologies are fudementally the same (although obviously that found on the F22 is for more powerful and sophisticated). THey do share some fundemental similarities:
Both are pulse modulated (preventing the signal from another device from being misinterpreted as an echo)
Both use the dopplar effect to determine if an object is coming or going (and at what speed)
Both are highly "sectoral" meaning they are very specific about which direction an object is in.
Both use DSP on the receiver the attempt to determine the composition of targets.
Saying they have "harnessed" this technology for use in their vehicles does not indicate that they are comparable any more than saying North Korea is comparable to the US because they "harnessed" the power of nuclear weapons.
on September 14, 2009 10:59 AM | Reply
I don't think you should be taking it so seriously. Instead of going mad, why don't you just laugh at them...? ;)
on September 14, 2009 3:31 PM | Reply
That story reads like a press release.
A little more digging on the part of the reporter could reveal just how similar -- or dissimilar -- the technologies are.
on September 14, 2009 5:28 PM | Reply
Hey..does congress know about this? If Ford is using stuff from the F22, have unit costs come down on the Radar? A substantially less expensive radar could be a driver to reopen the production line!
on September 14, 2009 6:57 PM | Reply
Yes, all marketers are liars:
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6909078385965257294
What else is new?
on September 16, 2009 12:33 PM | Reply
Shiels is a Ford shill.... most likely trying to get a year long test drive in a new model.