The Ford European Research & Innovation Center in Aachen, Germany, and the Technology and Innovation Management Institute of RWTH Aachen University have launched a new project in an attempt to solve future global transportation challenges.

The Personal Mobility Experience Innovation project, which helps Ford to address societal challenges such as traffic congestion as well as environmental issues, bring in experts from both the parties to study business models from various industries and the transformations made by other innovators.

Ford Research & Advanced Engineering executive technical leader Pim van der Jagt said: "This project is about tapping into the best thinking from other industries and sectors to deliver new mobility solutions."

"This project is about tapping into the best thinking from other industries and sectors to deliver new mobility solutions."

Ford expects with the with growing urbanisation, the number of megacities will grow from 28 to 41 having populations of more than ten million, putting pressure on existing road infrastructure.

In order to address the challenges the cities will require smarter cars, smarter roads and smarter cities, the company said.

In addition, the company is also contributing to the UK Autodrive initiative which will undertake research on how driverless and connected cars can be integrated into everyday life.

Following the study, the company plans to offer two prototype cars integrated with vehicle-to-vehicle communication capabilities, so as to help test a new public transport system.

The semi-autonomous vehicle features of Ford that are available at present include lane-keeping aid, adaptive cruise control and pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection.

A fleet of completely autonomous Ford Fusion Hybrid research vehicles is being developed, according to Ford.

A real-time 3D map of the environment around can be generated using four LiDAR sensors in the vehicles.

The sensors will be used by the vehicle to sense objects and advanced algorithms would be used in concert with fidelity maps to help it determine the location of vehicles and pedestrians.

Ford president and CEO Mark Fields said: "At Ford, we view ourselves as both a mobility and an auto company, as we drive innovation in every part of our business.

"These new collaborations will help us better understand and anticipate customers’ wants and needs, especially on connectivity, mobility and autonomous vehicles. We are working to make these new technologies accessible to everyone, not just luxury customers."