VIDEO INTERVIEW: Ford used its third appearance at Mobile World Congress to show the “bookends” of its Blueprint for Mobility strategy, Paul Mascarenas (pictured), the company’s chief technical officer, told Mobile World Live.

The car maker launched its new Focus car featuring SYNC 2, the latest version of its driver assistance and active safety technology. The updated product adds a touchscreen interface and steering wheel controls.

“It really just gives the customer a much better user interface and a much better experience while at the same time allowing them to concentrate on the primary focus of the driving,” Mascarenas said.

SYNC 2 also adds new content, such as access to the Michelin guides for hotel and restaurant recommendations for travellers.

As well as SYNC 2 the new Focus features Active City Stop, an automated braking system that cuts in when the vehicle appears to be on course for a collision, and which has been upgraded to work at up to 50 km/h from the previous 30 km/h. Other functionality includes blind spot monitoring, automatic park assist and collision warning.

At the other end of the scale, Ford’s automated research vehicle “is taking the concept of those production technologies, but really taking them to the next level of functionality”, according to Mascarenas.

The research vehicle uses Lidar, an advanced radar and camera technology able to create a 3D map of the environment surrounding the vehicle.

It enables the research team to look at miniaturisation, integration, affordability of sensors, but also determine the types of data needed for the car to understand its surroundings.

“We can show how we’re exploring the limits of technology in terms of sensor development, digital map data, the types of algorithms we can use to make available to our customers continuously more and more advanced features and functionality,” Mascarenas explained.

Ford is looking at automated driving rather than a driverless car, as it will allow drivers to “retain ultimate control of the vehicle”. However, in some environments, such as traffic jams, Ford vehicles may in the future drive themselves, according to the Ford CTO.

Launched by executive chairman Bill Ford at Congress two years ago, the Blueprint for Mobility now consists of three elements according to Mascarenas: exploring different business models (such as vehicle sharing, parking models, integrated transport systems); technology developments; and designing different types of urban vehicles.

You can see the full interview here.