Ford Patents Idea That Lets Parked Cars Autonomously Flee Danger

• What if your car could actively prevent its own theft? A newly published Ford patent has ideas to do just that.
• A patent submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) imagines a vehicle that could autonomously relocate based on nearby suspicious activity.
• The system could also choose to park against a wall to block cargo access or make wheel theft more difficult.

It’s usually not a good sign when you park your car and then return to that spot to find it’s not where you left it. An idea in a recently published Ford patent application would turn that into a positive, though, as it would mean the vehicle sensed trouble and autonomously re-parked itself somewhere it deemed safer. The patent also describes ways to park and safeguard specific pieces of vehicle equipment—such as the wheels—and what you’re carrying inside or in a pickup’s bed.

USPTO

Active Anti-Theft Parking

A Ford patent application submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) explains that a vehicle would detect “suspicious activity” and relocate itself somewhere less sketchy. Examples of these potential threats include a person who keeps peering into the windows or another vehicle repeatedly circling. The system could also decide a new spot is in order if the car finds itself alone in a previously populated lot—our four-wheeled friends get lonely too.

In a less complicated implementation, the vehicle could recommend a parking location and/or orientation to the driver, who would then park manually to, ideally, reduce the likelihood of theft.

Save the Wheels

Alone with fleeing danger, the application describes a variety of ways the vehicle could park itself for self-preservation. Most of these methods are intended to prevent wheel theft, a very real threat to new vehicles. (One of our test cars fell victim when it was minding its own business in a staffer’s suburban carport one moment, unceremoniously left wheelless on a pair of landscaping blocks the next.)

USPTO

Wheel-saving measures range from parking between two immovable objects—closely spaced parallel walls or a pair of other vehicles—to parking on an incline or a soft or uneven surface that would make the use of a jack, and therefore wheel theft, inconvenient. A vehicle with air suspension could drop itself down to its lowest level as a way to thwart thieves after stuff underneath—a gas-powered vehicle’s catalytic converter, for example.

We’ll Leave the Lights on for Ya

Such a system could also combat theft of a car’s contents by blocking entry. After you exit, the vehicle could find a nice cozy spot and nestle itself up against a wall such that the tailgate or hatch couldn’t be opened. The description also points out that this could block the removal of pricey head- or taillights (you’d presumably need perfectly spaced walls to guard both sets simultaneously). The user could have a choice of what gets secured—the stuff in the cargo area versus the wheels—before stepping away.

USPTO

These concepts live only in a patent application at this point. Even if Ford were granted a patent for a semi-paranoid vehicle with self-preserving tendencies, we wouldn’t necessarily see it on a production vehicle. But if you do see empty cars fleeing a parking lot, maybe look for somewhere else to stash your vehicle.

Other Ford Patents

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Ever since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs.

Source: www.caranddriver.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.