1 year ago
77 A caller patent allows Ford to physique cars that instrumentality enactment if the proprietor falls down connected payments by playing annoying sounds – oregon adjacent driving themselves backmost to the seller
Technology 28 February 2023Ford wants to physique cars that repossess themselves, though the exertion can’t beryllium utilized connected existent models similar the Ford Puma Ford Motor Company
Ford has been granted a patent for a strategy that allows a car to repossess itself if its proprietor fails to support up with payments. The steadfast envisions the car driving itself backmost to the showroom – oregon to a scrapyard if the worth of the car is low. But a information adept warns that the projected strategy could alternatively beryllium utilized to bargain cars remotely.
The patent, which was filed successful 2021 but granted lone past week, describes however the strategy would footwear successful if the car proprietor failed to respond to messages informing them they were falling down with payments. At that point, a bid of measures would archetypal beryllium utilized to marque the car unpleasant to drive, past impossible. Finally, arsenic a past resort, the car would instrumentality itself to the showroom.
The strategy could statesman by disabling features specified arsenic GPS navigation, the euphony strategy oregon the aerial conditioning, successful bid to make what the patent describes arsenic a “certain level of discomfort” for the owner. If this doesn’t work, the patents suggests enabling the car to make an “incessant and unpleasant sound”, specified arsenic a chime oregon beep, each clip the proprietor gets inside.
The adjacent escalation would beryllium to bounds entree to the car connected definite days oregon astatine definite times, making it unusable for leisure astatine weekends, but allowing the proprietor to proceed getting to enactment and truthful not harming their quality to yet wage for the car. The patent besides suggests utilizing GPS to “geofence” definite areas successful which the car would beryllium unusable.
If each other fails, past the car could beryllium instructed to thrust itself to a determination wherever a waiting tow-truck could prime it up, oregon adjacent to thrust itself each the mode to a repossession retention area. If the mileage connected the car is precocious and its information is poor, past it could alternatively beryllium instructed to thrust itself consecutive to a scrapyard for recycling.
Such a strategy would, of course, necessitate the car to beryllium afloat autonomous, which has been a persistent but elusive extremity for car makers: it is no much imaginable to bargain a genuinely self-driving car now than it was 15 years ago. Ford itself precocious announced that it was giving up connected its extremity of processing afloat self-driving technology, astatine a outgo of $2.7 billion.
Ford didn’t respond to a petition for remark connected the recently granted patent, but information adept Alan Woodward astatine the University of Surrey, UK, says that determination would beryllium information risks with specified a system.
“It’ll beryllium a brave conveyance shaper that builds this into their conveyance arsenic standard,” helium says. “I tin ideate a car thief not conscionable uncovering an unauthorised mode into the system, but besides socially engineering ‘authorised’ users to springiness them access.”
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